Campus alcohol ban to continue

A campus alcohol ban, brought in for the Rugby World Cup games in Dunedin in September, will continue at the University of Otago until a suitable replacement is drafted by lawyers.

A proposed repeal of the Alcohol on Campus Statute 2011 was to have taken effect on January 1.

However, the repeal has instead been put off and now, under a revised university Administration Statute, there will be two sets of legal regulations governing alcohol on the campus next year.

An advisory letter to university council members from Gallaway Cook Allan partner Diccon Sim said the repeal of an alcohol statute had been removed from the administration statute, "meaning that it will continue in effect in the meantime".

"This reflects the practicality that the adoption of new alcohol regulations is now not expected to have taken place . . . as was earlier thought possible," Mr Sim's letter said.

It remained an expectation that once new regulations were adopted, the alcohol on campus statute would be repealed, he said.

Last month, council members asked for a revised Administration Statute to be amended to ensure their regulatory decision-making powers were not delegated to academic staff.

Under the statute, academics would have been responsible for rules governing the library, computers, traffic and parking, use of campus premises, and alcohol.

The administration statute, which will take effect on January 1 contains regulations about alcohol which effectively mirror those contained in the campus on alcohol statute.