MPs have been making laws to enable access to alcohol at race meetings on race days and during those early hours at pubs when rugby's World Cup is broadcast from France.
It's the 2020s, right? Yes, but this week at Parliament you may have thought it was the 1960s.
That's because three dominant cultural forces of yesteryear showed yet again how they still hold sway: rugby, racing and beer.
MPs have been making laws to enable access to alcohol at race days and during those early hours at pubs when the rugby world cup is being broadcast from the northern hemisphere.
The first of the two bills concerning the sacred nexus of sport and alcohol this week related to the fact that later this year the World Cup of men's rugby will be played in France, a time zone where games are scheduled at times when most of us here are asleep or something like that.
Now, it's well established that people need to be involved with consuming alcohol in order to watch rugby. Pubs are often one of the few places people can get a chance to watch top rugby if they don't already have Sky Sport TV. So if the game's on during those wee hours when the pub is not licensed, that's an obstacle.
The government has come to the rescue with the Sale and Supply of Alcohol (Rugby World Cup 2023 Extended Trading Hours) Amendment Bill, presented by Justice Minister Kiri Allan on Tuesday.
"Time zone differences mean that many matches will be broadcast outside the maximum trading hours for pubs and clubs. For an event as important as the Rugby World Cup, we want to make sure that New Zealanders have options for enjoying live matches whilst also supporting the hospitality sector, and this is what this bill does," she explained, adding that the bill is based on the amendments made for the 2015 and 2019 Rugby World Cups, which were also played in the Northern Hemisphere.
"The bill exempts eligible licence holders from the special licence process and creates a notification system instead, where licence holders provide written notice to police and to their local councils.
"The bill only applies to current on-licence and club licence holders that have not had their licence suspended or cancelled in the last year. Extended trading hours only apply to premises that will televise a live match. Extended hours will be treated as the premises' usual trading hours."
Lifelong interest
On Wednesday night, further recalling the spirit of Rod Derrett's 1965 classic record Rugby, Racing & Beer, another alcohol and sport-related piece of legislation, the Sale and Supply of Alcohol (Exemption for Race Meetings) Amendment Bill, was up for its last debate before being passed into law…