Sam MacKinnon: Hospitality NZ Head of Advocacy on the proposed loosening of alcohol laws

Alcohol reforms are seen as a step in the right direction by a hospo industry voice. 

The Government's proposing to allow businesses a right of reply around licensing objections and is allowing wineries and breweries the ability to have both an off and on licence. 

Hospitality NZ’s Head of Advocacy Sam MacKinnon told Mike Hosking there’s a range of measures in these reforms, and they all support hospitality. 

He says they’re pleased overall with the direction of travel.  

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
Now to these alcohol changes where to have a clearer
licensing process the best, but that people from out of
town can't make objections of profession. Also easy to open
for special events, which I think is good. Sam McKinnon,
head of Advocacy at Hospital New Zealanders with a Sam Morning.
So what do we have here in totality a tinker
or a game changer?

Speaker 2 (00:18):
I mean, I think it's a step in the right direction.
These changes are reinstating some of the rules that were
in place for force and changes that the last government made,
and so enabling making sure that your objectors actually have
an interest in your community. We've had cases of you know,
based in Auckland making objections for licenses and Tomorrow and

(00:38):
Viicago with no understanding as a model that a venue
players in their community or the measures they have in
place to run a great venue.

Speaker 1 (00:44):
And no one up to this point is thought that's mental.

Speaker 2 (00:49):
Well, certainly the industry has thought that that's at a
little bit crazy, but so I guess in that sense,
it's great to see that the government's been listening and
has made these changes.

Speaker 1 (00:58):
Good because it came out of the hell up the thing.
For me, I don't know if you're interested in that.
But Eli Williams and as helicopter, the people in Wanaka
and WAYHICKI telling them he couldn't land in a suburban orklane.
I think, what's going on together? That's mad? What about
these sporting events? That's all good, isn't it?

Speaker 2 (01:11):
Yeah? Yeah, I mean I think for us that provides
a bit more opportunity around some other events might be
able to be our host and venues when they're run
on the other side of the world outside of our
licensing hours. So we've already run every Rugby World Cup
run through a legislative process to basically stop each individual
venue having to apply for a special license. But this

(01:32):
opens the door for FIFA World Cup Finals or I
guess other events. At the minister's discress.

Speaker 1 (01:37):
Do we still have town to town, region to region
issues to deal with or not?

Speaker 2 (01:42):
Yeah? I mean one of our key challenges around the
licensing system is just the inconsistent interpretations of what the
rules actually say within the Saal and Spy of Alcohol Act,
and so you kind of end up, depending on where
you are in the country, you might have your local
authority to determine a different instead of rulings around the license,
So that doesn't support investment in hospitality, doesn't support a

(02:07):
thriving hospitality center. So that's that's something we'd like to
have looked at.

Speaker 1 (02:11):
Next, give me an out of ten, ten it was
perfect one, it was a bust.

Speaker 2 (02:16):
Well, look, the zero percent stuff is really positive for
us as well, so overall probably is seven. The zero
percent stuff means that we're able to serve zero percent
beers to satisfy low alcohol requirements, which currently they kind
of salm to a bit of a gray area. So
there's a range of newers here. They all support hospitality.

(02:38):
We're played overall with the direction of travel.

Speaker 1 (02:40):
Have you ever tasted a zero percent beer that you
genuinely recommend?

Speaker 2 (02:45):
Yeah? I mean Garrett Project Tiny is always go to
for me.

Speaker 1 (02:49):
Ok, Garage Project Tiny. I'm going to get a bit
of that action this weekend. Sam top Tip Sam McKinnon,
the head of advocacy at Hospitality in New Zealand. For
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