Licensing Bill welcomed

Kerry Prendergast
Kerry Prendergast
[comment caption=Do you agree that the Government should be moving to restrict the number of liquor outlets?]Reaction to Prime Minister Helen Clark's call for a crackdown on the number of liquor outlets has been cautiously welcomed in Otago.

Manurewa MP George Hawkins' Bill aimed at restricting the number of liquor outlets looks set for a smooth passage after it was fast-tracked into Parliament this week with National's backing.

The Sale of Liquor (Objections to Applications) Amendment Bill widens the opportunities for the public to object to licence applications and allows licensing authorities to consider the social and economic impact of a decision on the community.

Miss Clark also said the Government would consider widening the grounds for objection to a licence and capping the number of liquor licences.

At present, considerations of density of location or economic or social implications are not considered as licences are issued.

Dunedin Mayor Peter Chin said he would welcome a law change enabling local authorities to specify locations and cap the number of liquor licences granted.

"I think it is heading in the right direction, provided legislation is not done on a one-size-fits-all basis."

Such changes would mean more work for councils, he said.

"But it also gives us more ability to be able to control it [alcohol]."

Local Government New Zealand vice-president and Wellington Mayor Kerry Prendergast said many councils were concerned about the relationship between the density of liquor outlets, binge-drinking and alcohol-related harm.

The number of alcohol outlets nationally had soared since rules were relaxed in 1989, and new research linked outlet density with binge drinking and alcohol-related harm, she said.

The number of licensed premises had gone from 6295 to 14,970 since the earlier legislation was passed.

Licences in Dunedin have increased by 50% since 1991 to a total of 422.

Councils had for some time been advocating changes to the Sale of Liquor Act, Ms Prendergast said.

"New legislation that gives councils the power to consider the social and community impacts when making decisions about new licensed premises is a positive step towards improving community safety."

Dunedin City Council liquor licence inspector Tony Mole warned the Bill required much more work.

"Good intentions don't make it right. This will need a hell of a lot of discussion about particulars to make any difference.

"It's great to see people are thinking about this stuff now, but it [the Bill] is no panacea."

The Bill's introduction and its cross-party acceptance reflected a changing national mood towards tolerance of alcohol-related harm, he said.

Business people have criticised the Bill as a Band-aid on what is a problem for all of society.

Otago Chamber of Commerce chief executive John Christie said the alcohol problem was bigger than just liquor stores.

Law-abiding citizens who wanted to use alcohol should not be penalised because of the actions of a few who abused it.

Restricting the number of outlets could exacerbate the problem, he said.

"People always have and always will find alcohol or drugs if they really want them, whether it's by legal or illegal means."

He agreed local councils should have more power to deal with their own issues as they saw fit.

If councils wanted to change the rules, local businesses would have to adapt, he said.

Ruth Molloy, of the Te Whare Pounamu Dunedin women's refuge, welcomed any provision for more community input to decision-making on liquor licensing.

She supported the changes to licensing laws as long as they were realistic, fit into the bigger context of alcohol-related harm, and were well thought through.

 

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