As would be expected, the liquor industry is rallying strongly against any tightening of the rules on alcohol in response to the Dunedin City Council's draft local alcohol policy.
The usual commentary is being thrown around about the risked loss of vibrancy in our city's entertainment quarter. However, when the suggestions are tested against international experience, we can see that vibrancy does not have to mean technicolour.
The experience of many international cities that have experimented with extended trading hours before pulling back to more traditional closing times has been that reducing hours does not impact on vibrancy.
Vibrancy comes when people are having a good time in a safe environment. Having bars close earlier does not stop people coming out to have a good time but it does take off the nasty edge often seen in the early hours presently.
The irony of the industry's strong opposition is that the current extended hours of drinking mean greater pre-loading, later patron arrival in town and, no doubt, less alcohol purchased in bars than would be otherwise.
The trend in most New Zealand cities has been for drinking patterns to extend later as hours of trading have extended. Most people still start drinking around the same time, regardless of when the bars close, so the longer the bars are open, the longer people drink.
This has led to much greater prevalence of pre-loading, with patrons often not arriving in bars until closer to midnight.
By that stage they are drinking little but are affected much. We know that the higher the level of intoxication on the streets, the higher will be alcohol-related assaults, disorder and property damage.
Intoxicated people are significantly over-represented in both offending and victimisation.
Of particular concern is the surrounding social impact, such as fallout for those whose intoxication contributes to regrettable sex or, worse, becoming the victim of a sexual assault.
Along with this, heavy intoxication is often associated with those who become victims of serious assaults arising from drunken altercations in the inner city.
The suggestion that closing bars earlier will result in an increase in drinking in uncontrolled, unsafe environments is unhelpful. At the heart of this perspective are cultural attitudes towards drinking - and the need for individuals to take greater responsibility for their own drinking behaviour.
Turning back closing times in bars is one of the actions we can take to impact on that culture and encourage people to shift their behaviours and attitudes.
With the prospect of earlier closing times, we are threatened with disorder in the streets of north Dunedin and a loss of student appeal for the university.
My clear impression is that the university, and the surrounding community, could do with fewer of the students who see the University of Otago as a party destination, and the city's reputation will be all the better for it.
For too long, taxpayers and ratepayers have subsidised the costs of excessive alcohol consumption through the impacts of crime and disorder and the unreasonable load created on emergency departments, the health system and other emergency services. The cost to the community far outweighs the profit to the companies and individuals involved.
Inevitably, being well organised around anything that threatens profits, the industry speaks with a louder voice than the community that wears the effects of excessive alcohol consumption.
The consultation period on the local alcohol policy represents an opportunity for the community to have an input on some of the policy settings that can reduce the impacts of alcohol.
Police are clear that the draft policy represents a sensible balance between maintaining the city's nightlife and improving its safety and reputation. This is an issue in which all of us in the community have a stake if we want a safer city. I encourage you to have your say.
