Anti-smoking Zealots Exhibit Hypocrisy

Friday, October 12 2001 Rodney Hide Press Releases -- Commerce

ACT MP Rodney Hide today accused Labour, Alliance and the Greens of gross hypocrisy for attempting to ram through legislation effectively banning smoking in most pubs.

"This Government wants to outlaw every person's right to light up when they're having a beer in the pub at the end of a hard day's work. The legislation tramples on property rights by denying pub owners the right to set their own rules in their own establishments.

"Labour's voters are going to be horrified when they get to the pub and find the smoking police stubbing out their cigarettes.

"Reformed smoker Helen Clark and her pious friends are trying to impose their Nanny-State zeal on the rest of us. Even the hypocrites in the Greens, who would have us all smoking marijuana, want to outlaw nicotine.

"ACT is the only party that can say none of our MPs smoke. No other party can say that.

"Yet we are alone standing up for the rights and choices of bar owners to set their own rules in their establishments.

"ACT has surveyed every bar in the country. Ninety-five percent of respondents want this legislation to be halted - they can already choose if they want to be smoke-free or not, and they value that freedom.

"At least twenty-five bars have told us they are going to be forced to fire their staff and close down because they cannot afford the renovations this legislation requires.

"This Government can't find enough money for Kohanga Reo. It can't afford to reduce long-term truancy in schools. It can't deal with hospital waiting lists. But it is perfectly happy to come up with the cash to create a mob of bigoted 'smokefree' police to go around ruining everybody else's lives.

"Every adult can make the decision to smoke or not, or to go into a bar that's smoking or non-smoking. Even though ACT MPs don't smoke, we'll staunchly defend that right," Rodney Hide said.

ENDS

For more information visit ACT online at http://www.act.org.nz or contact the ACT Parliamentary Office at act@parliament.govt.nz.

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