A government review into the hospitality sector has found some businesses are paying too many fees and decisions around licensing are murky and take too long.The review was launched last year and looked how at restaurants, bars, clubs (like an RSA or sports club), cafés, food stalls at markets, food trucks, catering businesses and hotels interact with regulators like councils.It found a number of inefficiencies, including:Businesses give the same information multiple times, often to the same regulator.Some decisions take too long, leaving businesses uncertain about timeframesAlcohol licensing and renewal processes can be inefficient, disproportionate to risk, and ineffective in some casesFees for licensing and registration are too high for some hospitality businesses, not always transparent, and are not covering the costs for regulatorsFood safety requirements are not always effective, efficient, or proportionate to riskFood safety checks and compliance practices may not be effective, efficient, nor proportionateDisproportionate regulatory barriers affect the provision of transport servicesBuilding consent and planning requirements can create unnecessary costs and delays for temporary structures like marquees.In total, the review contains 24 recommendations, including moving some businesses to a "lower-risk" category, scrapping annual or bi-annual renewals and introducing a nationally standardised application form, appointing a new steward for the alcohol regulatory system, and reviewing building consent exemption conditions for temporary marquees.It also recommends removing the current alcohol licence types and replacing them with one "coherent risk framework", as well as repealing the Hotel Association of New Zealand Act 1969.Minister for Tourism and Hospitality Louise Upston said the sector played a "vital role" in the economy, providing jobs all over the country."The hospitality sector is a $21.4 billion industry, employing more than 193,000 people across the country. We're backing Kiwi businesses and supporting a stronger visitor economy.Regulation Minister David Seymour and Minister for Tourism and Hospitality Louise Upston announce the review in 2025.RNZ / Russell Palmer"As several of the recommendations highlight, hospitality issues often span multiple portfolios and agencies. That is why I will develop a Hospitality Action Plan to provide a co-ordinated framework for priority hospitality initiatives across government," she said.Regulation Minister David Seymour said everybody had a favourite café, bar or restaurant they wished was still open."The sector was hit hard by Covid. Red tape and dumb rules made it hard for the sector to bounce back."The rules and regulations are imposed by so many departments that they're difficult to fix. That's why we set up a ministry with a mandate for cutting red tape; to fix the problems no one else can," he said.Speaking to media, Seymour said many of the recommendations related to the alcohol regime."Too often, the good operators have to apply and apply again, facing delays, uncertainty, and differing fees from year to year - bad operators may still get through."We want to make it easier for people who are responsible hosts to continue operating with one smooth national register and one set of templates," he said.Upston said one of the biggest regulators was local council and the rule changes depended on which jurisdiction a business was operating in."I've talked to local businesses in my electorate [and] one set up a new café in one part of the electorate, really easy, a council that was really helpful, really wanted to enable them to start that business and get up and running."In the next one... you would have sworn that they are trying to create a business that had just the most enormous risk of any activity you could ever do in New Zealand, and made it so difficult, and put so many barriers in place that they gave up," she said.Seymour said he did not believe councils were trying to "make people's lives hard"."They're good people who want an easy life and want to serve their communities. We're giving them the templates and the tools to do that in a consistent way, and often it's actually central government's laws that are forcing councils to do things that they don't want to do."He said all 24 recommendations would be implemented eventually.