David Seymour getting a haircut at Rodney Wayne in New Market, Auckland. Photo: RNZ / Marika Khabazi
Minister for Regulation David Seymour has taken a razor to regulations in the hairdressing industry but the changes have been dismissed as a waste of time by some.
From July, barbers and hairdressers will be able to decide things like the distance between salon seats, the brightness of the lights and whether you can have a cup of tea with your cut.
The changes follow a review - carried out by the Ministry for Regulation along with the Ministry of Health - that looked at the regulations the industry needed to follow and whether any of them were deemed to be unnecessary or holding the industry back.
But owner of Matt Forsman Hair in Wellington Matt Forsman told Midday Report the changes were a unnecessary.
"I believe everyone has been ignoring a lot of these rules for quite some time.
"Not particularly the spacing of seats or number of lumium required at each station, but the whole, you know, cup of tea coffee thing and also the dog thing. It seems like everyone serves their clients refreshments already and clients are typically allowed to bring their pooch in as well."
He said he didn't disagree with the minister that regulations were a "waste of time", but said the attention could be better focused towards other issues facing the industry.
"Pre-Covid we used to enjoy a really good supply of talented, articulate and clever hairdresser coming from places like the UK, and post-Covid we just have not had that.
"I don't know whether the immigration standards or regulations have changed or whether we are not a priority, but pretty much every salon owner I know is looking for staff - we have a shortage of people in the industry."
Earlier, Minister for Regulation David Seymour said "pointless bureaucracy" was being cut back, and it would save the industry about $1 million a year.
"Some will say 'what's a million dollars in the context of the whole economy', I say how many times do you see a government actually removing rules that aren't needed, actually saving money year after year to make it easier to get on with our lives."
Seymour said it was critical "people up and down this country who run small businesses can spend more time doing what they want to do and spend less time complying with pointless rules and regulations".
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