PARLIAMENT RECOMMENDATIONS ON LIQUOR BILL

Press, Volume C, Issue 29673, 17 November 1961, Page 16

PARLIAMENT RECOMMENDATIONS ON LIQUOR BILL

Committee Suggests 49 Changes, 23 New Clauses

(52. Press Association) WELLINGTON, November 16. The Licensing Amendment Bill was reported back to the House of Representatives from the statutes revision committee today with amendments to 49 of its 69 clauses and recommendaions for the addition of 23 new clauses. But the Attorney-General (Mr Hanan) said the major reforms in the bill, as it was originally introduced, remained intact.

The principal change made by the committee is in the section abolishing licensing committees. In its original form the bill abolished local licensing committees and handed their functions over to the Licensing Control Commission and magistrates. The committee recommended that local committees be retained, but with new constitutions. It recommends 22 committees in place of the present 54. The Statutes Revision Committee has recommended price control on hotel accommodation should be removed, although no amendment to the bill is proposed. The committee heard representations from Mr P. Blanchfield (Opposition, Westland), who urged staggered drinking hours as an experiment in areas like the West Coast, if the people there wanted it.

The committee chairman, Mr C G E. Harker (Government, Hawke’s Bay), said the committee made no recommendation on staggered hours, but members of the committee felt the question should be considered by all members of Parliament with a view to provision for staggered, or “altenwtive," hours being included in a consolidation of the licensing laws next year The main provisions of the present bill include the issue of tavern licences, the employment of barmaids and the removal of the limit on the number of restaurant liquor licences. The committee’s report was tabled and the bill has been set down for the committee stage debate. Mr Harker said that the committee unanimously recommended the abolition of price control on the accommodation side of the hotel industry. ’This is probably the biggest advance in licensing legislation brought before the House for many, many years," he said. Members of the House had been under pressure from, many sources and the pressures would be kept up until the bill reached the statute book or was abandoned, he said Licensing Committees The committee had had to decide whether or not licensing committees should be abolished, and the bulk of the evidence from both sides, both those opposed to the trade and those in it, had agreed than the local touch should be preserved “We recognise that, for many years, the committees have not functioned as they were intended to function," said Mr Harker "We propose that the total number of committees should be reduced from 54 to 22 and that a new system of election should be adopted ‘There is no reason why the licensing committee should not function very effectively and bring local information to bear on its work "The commission will no longer grant licences They will determine primarily whether a hotel or tavern licence is needed in a particular area, or whether a hotel shall have a special licence or an extended licence Who the licensee should be is a master which will be left to the licensing committee. “The Licensing Commission will authorise the issue of a

licence and the committee will grant the licence. It will leave the commission much freer to deal with the major problems that come before it.” Closing of Bars Mr Harker said the committee considered the provision in the 1960 act for the locking of bars was “premature.” and section 20 of the 1960 act would not come into operation until January 1, 1963. “There was a conflict of evidence on the employment of barmaids,” said Mr Harker. Representatives of some of the churches thought the employment of barmaids would probably raise the standard of conduct, and it had been decided to recommend that the minimum age of a barmaid employed should be 25. Mr W. A. Fox: (Miramar): Will you run a beauty contest for barmaids? Mr Harker went on to say the bill had made no provision for the conversion of tavern licences into hotel licences, and the committee recommended that this should be permitted. Licensing committees would he- able to make recommendations to the commission on hotel alterations. When the commission was sitting on a matter affecting some local district a member of the local licensing committee would be allowed to sit with the commission with all the rights of a member of the commission, said Mr Harker. Discussing the employment of women and girls in hotels as dancing partners, Mr Harker said the committee wished to avoid the introduction into New Zealand of the Continental system under which the managament engaged women to dance with customers and paid them commission on the drinks that the customers bought. "We think that is a bad system.” he said Accommodation Mr Harker said evidence bed been given by departmental officers that the provision of more and better hotel accommodation was being retarded by price control, which had been lifted only from some of the top hotels. If price control was lifted, many hotels would improve both the quantity and quality of their accommodation. Mr Harker said the committee preferred the term "alternative hours" to “staggered hours.” He thought control by local representatives on the question of hours would almost

certainly prevent the "five-to-siX swill” because the hotels would close sometime in that hour, say at 5.30 p.m. Mr Harker said the committee had been unable to make a direct recommendation. It might be too late to consider the matter in the present bill, but he thought both parties could discuss the matter and think about it for a consolidation of the legislation next year. Staggered Hours Mr Blanchfield, who made submissions to the committee, urged local polls in certain areas to determine if the public wanted more suitable drinking hours. “When men are working the hotels are open,” he said. “When men are at leisure the hotels are closed. “In the city people can drink in restaurants up until 12 o’clock in perfect safety, but not in other areas It should be rectified.” Mr N. E. Kirk (Opposition. Lyttelton) said there had been evidence from other sources which had completely repudiated the claims for staggered hours. Mr Kirk said he did not ! favour the reintroduction of barmaids. Mr D. J. Riddiford (Government, Wellington Central), also a member of the committee, said most evidence was in favour of barmaids—that it would result in more order, a better tone in bars, and more civilised drinking. Mr H. G. R. Mason (Opposition, Waitakere) said Mr Blanchfield should not feel his evidence on staggered hours had been ignored. “Contrary to many, I think New Zealand, because it is almost 1000 miles long, is not such a precise unit that people at one end of the country should necessarily be permited to have a say over people at the other end. Local people should be considered,” said Mr Mason. Mr J. G. Edwards (Opposition, Napier) said the committee had received no representations from any consumers’ organisations. He said he strongly opposed the sale of liquor at airports by the granting of licences to airport restaurants.