East Coast MP Dana Kirkpatrick pushing to legalise drinks at hair salons

Mane Street hairstylists Rachelle Cumming Cherie Gaukrodger, Sarah Kent with Dana Kirkpatrick. Kirkpatrick’s Hairdressing (Reducing Restrictions) Legislation Bill would remove restrictions on serving beverages at salons or barbers.

East Coast MP Dana Kirkpatrick has added a member’s bill to the ballot to overturn a law which stops people from enjoying a beverage or the company of their furry friends while getting a haircut.

Under the Health (Hairdressers) Regulations 1980, it is an offence to provide a drink in the service area of a hairdressing salon or a barber.

It is illegal to take a dog, apart from a guide dog, into a salon as well.

Kirkpatrick’s Hairdressing (Reducing Restrictions) Legislation Bill would chop these restrictions and go one step further by allowing hairdressing businesses to provide one alcoholic beverage of no more than 1.5 standard drinks during a haircut.

“This is a bill that fixes an age-old rule turning our wonderful hair stylists and barbers into criminals because it is currently illegal to serve any beverage — whether it be tea, coffee, bubbles, or beer — in a hair salon,” Kirkpatrick said in a statement.

“Many salons already offer tea and coffee or a glass of bubbles but are unaware of the laws that exist preventing this.”

Her statement pointed out that dogs were allowed on-site in Parliament and throughout the country in offices.

“If pulled from the ballot, I hope that my Parliamentary colleagues will support this Bill to ensure that we have a common-sense approach to the rules around cutting someone’s hair.”

Sarah Kent, a hairstylist from Mane Street Hair Design in Gisborne, said neither she nor her colleagues knew about the restrictions until they were brought to their attention by Kirkpatrick.

“We serve tea and coffee and sometimes there is a wine at night time, normally Christmas time, but we don’t have dogs in the salon. That is a personal preference, there are some salons that do allow them,” Kent said.

She said they had never been warned or fined for serving beverages during a haircut before.

“Nobody ever said anything about it, nobody knew, nothing.

“It is a hospitable thing that you do, you visit someone’s house and you have a cup of tea. Our clients are here to relax, have their colour done or whatever the case may be and enjoy a cup of tea or coffee.”

She remembered a salon franchise which used to operate in Auckland called Dry and Tea had a gimmick around doubling as a tea bar.

“Now I think about it and it is like that was... illegal, wasn’t it?”

Kirkpatrick told the Gisborne Herald she got the idea for the Hairdressing (Reducing Restrictions) Legislation Bill from James Meager, National MP for Rangitata.

“My good friend and colleague James Meager, who is an absolute devil for trawling the statute book looking for ideas and idiotic rules that we need fixed, came across this one.”

She said hairdressers faced a $500 fine for a breach of the existing legislation.

“I’ve even had my hair cut in Ponsonby, Auckland, and have been given a glass of bubbles while they are doing it,” she said.

“[The law] just makes no sense, it is outrageous. What harm could there be from serving a cup of tea?”

The Ministry of Health administers the regulations, while local authorities are responsible for enforcing them.

A spokesperson said the ministry was not aware of any enforcement action in recent history related to serving refreshments or bringing dogs into hairdressers.