Hamilton city leaders look at ‘bespoke’ alcohol rules

Thursday, 28 May 2026

Hamilton city leaders say common sense and flexibility, including the prospect of tailoring ‘bespoke’ liquor licences to different venues and events should be part of “wide-ranging and sweeping’’ hospitality reforms.

Hamilton City Councillors took part in a workshop on Wednesday to go over a potential submission on the Ministry of Regulation’s Hospitality Sector Review.

Key points raised by councillors included the need for consistency in regulations while still allowing flexibility for local context.

Councillors also emphasised the need to streamline processes for low-risk, consistently compliant businesses.

Deputy Mayor Geoff Taylor pointed out the need to allow more flexibility around existing alcohol consumption rules.

“Hospitality is under a great deal of stress, and yet it adds to the vibrancy of central city or suburbs, so I guess flexibility is something I'm thinking of.

“For example, I was at the zoo at the cafe, right outside, having lunch and we thought should we just move over to the grass. We moved there but because I had a beer, I had to move back. Now that in a setting like that seems a little ludicrous to me.

“I would like to see more proportionality around that type of thing.’’

He suggested the council press the ministry to include more ability to create “bespoke’’ alcohol licences that could be shaped depending on location, taking into account that different type of events had different risk profiles.

Mesh Macdonald was of the same mind, saying too often regulation “threw common sense out of the window.’’

She said while it makes sense to have some standardized components to allow for consistency it was also important any changes preserve the flexibility to be able “to do what makes sense’’.

HCC staff indicated that they would do so.

Staff will now formalise a submission for final council approval.

The sector review covers regulation that applies to the hospitality sector; restaurants, bars, cafes, food stalls, food trucks, catering businesses, and hotels.

The review comes at a time when Hospitality New Zealand Waikato branch president Chris Rollitt previously told the Waikato Times that the wider sector was in a challenging but good space.

After a “harsh” 2025, hospitality had turned a corner and seen some real promise at the beginning of the year.

However, the impact of high fuel prices over the past two or three months is causing eateries to adapt their business prices to mitigate pressure.

“The Hospitality Review will find the problems with hospitality regulation, and make recommendations to cut red tape, keep costs down, manage risks, and make compliance easier,’’ a ministry spokesperson told Waikato Times.

“Since the Review began, we have engaged with the hospitality sector, including business owners, workers, peak bodies, local authorities, and other interested parties about the regulatory issues they experience and their ideas for change.’’

Overall, the review is assessing whether the existing rules are:

- necessary and worth the cost

- effective, efficient, and proportionate to the risks

- adaptable and can evolve over time

- easy to comply with, and

- aligned with good regulatory practice.