LOCAL MP Gideon Amos wants fairer Government treatment for public houses, hotels, and other hospitality businesses in Wellington.

Mr Amos spoke in Parliament during an Opposition debate which called for a dedicated strategy for the industry.

Mr Amos said they were not just places to eat and drink, but ‘the heart of our communities’.

He said: “They provide jobs, keep our high streets alive, and make our communities better and stronger, but many of them tell me they feel abandoned as a result of the Government’s policies.

“Across the country, an average of 30 pubs close their doors every week.

“Hospitality businesses need support, not just through fair taxes, but by seeing the benefit of their taxes being invested in public services, such as policing.”

He said hospitality businesses were not asking for special treatment, only ‘fairness, a level playing field’ giving them an opportunity to ‘compete, invest and thrive without being penalised by the tax system’.

Mr Amos said: “That is why Liberal Democrats have long called for business rates to be scrapped and replaced with a fairer system, one that shifts the burden from the tenants to the landowners.

“It is why we opposed the rise in National Insurance contributions, which squeezes small firms and workers alike.

“The Government need to listen to the hoteliers, publicans, and restaurateurs in towns such as Wellington because, unless things change, more doors will close, more jobs will go, and communities across the country will be poorer for it.”

Mr Amos said one publican had told him business rates were now greater than his lease, while a hotelier had seen theirs more than double in a year.

He said such businesses were now in ‘survival mode’.

A motion opposing increased taxes on the hospitality sector was voted down by the Government by 334 to 158.