The Sale and Supply of Alcohol Amendment Bill is set to have its third reading in Parliament, just before the Easter Holidays.
On Wednesday, April 1st, Kieran McAnulty’s member bill, The Sale and Supply of Alcohol (Sales on Anzac Day Morning, Good Friday, Easter Sunday, and Christmas Day) Amendment Bill, changing the rules of trade for alcohol over Easter, ANZAC and Christmas days will have its third reading.
Assuming the Bill passes the reading, it will need Royal Assent on Thursday, April 2nd, for the new Easter trading rules to be in place by Friday, April 3rd, which this year is Easter Friday.
These rules represent a significant change in how hospitality venues have been required to operate across Easter weekend, most notably the requirement to only serve drinks with a meal.
Businesses have been advised to plan to operate under the current rules. However, should these changes come into effect in time for Easter, businesses will be ready to operate and welcome guests as they would any other weekend of the year.
There is an element of caution that public conditioning of decades of the current rules will mean that many members of the public won’t be aware that venues can operate as normal.
This Bill has sought to remove an extra burden on businesses by removing the restriction on trading and selling alcohol on public holidays. On these days, businesses are prevented from opening or are unnecessarily restricted in their operations. This represents a level of state control and bureaucracy which is not required and indeed detrimental.
The impact of this is felt most severely by small businesses, which generally have a smaller pool of cash reserves and tighter allowances. Small businesses make up approximately 97 percent of all businesses and employ around 30 percent of the total New Zealand working population.
By removing these restrictions, trading will be permitted throughout these days. This allows businesses to self-determine which days they would like to open, which is more consistent with a free society. The Bill retains the existing employee protections under the Shop Trading Hours Act 1990 that apply in respect of Easter Sunday and extends these protections to Good Friday.
Overall, this Bill seeks to remove burdens and unnecessary restrictions placed on businesses which provide an obstacle to trading while also being more compatible with the principles of a free society.
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