Free Thoughts - Celebrating the communal
ACT Leader David Seymour
ACT is known for its celebration of free markets and the freedom of individuals, both economically and socially.
If you look at our key principles on our website, the first line reads: A free society: free trade, free speech, and
personal and religious freedom.
Those freedoms provide choice, and we are well aware that what individuals choose will often be collective action and
communal activity. We celebrate that. We are social animals.
Much of what we do is communal, much of our action is collective, and all the better for it. Think of the Student
Volunteer Army in the aftermath of the Christchurch earthquakes.
Much of what we value is not at all individualistic. We solve many problems by collective and communal activity freely
entered into, without any element of the compulsion that characterises government intervention.
The government plays no role when we come together to form or join a tennis, golf, rugby, or cricket club, ski clubs
with communal facilities on ski fields, the local yacht club, and so on.
Some of our most intense, memorable or meaningful experiences are communal: religious and charitable activities, the
huge variety of clubs and hobby activities, music concerts from rock to classical, theatre and film, and sports events,
especially those in large sold-out stadiums.
Recall the drama of the last Rugby World Cup final, a title the All Blacks will shortly be defending. Or those painful
losses; that world cup final loss to South Africa in extra time in 1995, and the quarter final loss to France in 2007.
With the 2015 Rugby World Cup starting in the UK later next month many of us will want to enjoy some of the games with
friends or like-minded strangers, enjoying the camaraderie of a shared experience. Much of that will be done at home,
but many will want to enjoy some of the matches in a sports bar or club facility.
Because of the time zone difference, most of these games will be played outside normal licensing hours, so licensed
facilities would not be able to open, meaning rugby fans would be stuck at home. There is a simple solution, one the
British used during the 2014 FIFA World Cup in Brazil:
Allow an extension to normal on-license and club licenses, under the sale of liquor act, so our hospitality industry’s
wonderful range of facilities can be used to watch these matches for the duration of the 2015 world cup, from September
18 through to October 31 (1 November NZ time).
Accordingly I have prepared a simple Bill which amends licensing hours so that these facilities can be open for normal
business if used to broadcast these matches. If the match is wholly outside normal licensing hours they can open an hour
before the match starts, and close an hour after, so long as there has been a two hour period beforehand where no liquor
is served.
Tomorrow I will seek leave from the House to introduce this Bill which, if there are no objections, will be set down for
its first reading the next day, then sent to select committee for a short period (it is a simple Bill). I hope the Bill
will pass into law before the World Cup begins.
Our hospitality industry does a great job of feeding us, watering us, and entertaining us, and gives us safe
environments for having fun. Cafes, bars and restaurants employ over 78,000 people (on a full time equivalent basis) and
about 28,000 in Auckland alone.
Let’s make it possible for these facilities to be used by those that want to use them. For most it will be an
opportunity to enjoy some rugby matches in a boisterous group, probably get served a large breakfast at half time, with
lots of coffee and the occasional New Zealand brew.
ends