The Sale and Supply of Alcohol (Improving Alcohol Regulation) Amendment Bill, which is going through the select committee process at present, aims to limit the array of objections an individual or group can have towards the issuing of a liquor licence.
In particular, the legislation wants to ensure objections to licensing applications come from local communities and allow licence applicants a right of reply to objectors.
Lion Breweries submitted in favour of the Bill, but wrote of its difficulties with one particular group - Students for Sensible Drug Policy (SSDP) Ōtepoti Dunedin - as being a clear reason for the changes being required.
As a recent example, in 2024, Lion applied to renew the on-licence for Speight’s Heritage Centre - located in the oldest continually operating brewery in New Zealand, which has operated responsibly in the central Dunedin community for many years.
The application was opposed by SSDP Ōtepoti Dunedin, which, in Lion's characterisation of the objection, ‘‘raised concerns about Lion’s advertising of a non-Speight’s product, some 3km away from the Heritage Centre’’.
‘‘We had to engage legal counsel, prepare evidence and attend a hearing as a result of that opposition. Ultimately, our renewal was granted.’’
Lion described the experience as ‘‘suboptimal’’ and said it had also heard from many licensees, customers and retailers ‘‘up and down the country’’ about their ‘‘real and genuine challenges with the Act’’.
‘‘They tell us about their frustrations with the current licensing framework, including significant delays, costs and complexities ... The Act has to change.’’
Lion is one of two major brewers responsible for producing about 80% of all beer brewed in New Zealand, and its brands include Steinlager, Speight’s, Ichiban, Hyoketsu, Mac’s, Panhead, Emerson’s, Wither Hills and Lindauer.
Former SSDP Ōtepoti Dunedin member Scott Stucki said the organisation was ‘‘in hiatus’’, and the passing of the Bill was close to being a done deal.
However, Lion had misrepresented the nature of the organisation’s objection, he said.
‘‘During O Week 2024, Lion NZ targeted Otago University students with incredibly aggressive and manipulative marketing for its Hyoketsu RTD brand in North Dunedin, an area where alcohol-related harm is already extremely common and commonly extreme.
‘‘Instead of working to minimise alcohol-related harm, Lion NZ instead chose to fight a turf war for alcohol profits which targeted our vulnerable community.’’
Mr Stucki said if any other licensee in Dunedin had promoted their products as irresponsibly and unsafely as Lion NZ did during O Week 2024, their suitability would have been raised at their next licence renewal.
‘‘The comments made by Lion NZ in their select committee submissions misrepresent SSDP’s objection, and once again minimise their role in the extremely common and commonly extreme alcohol-related harm experienced by students in Dunedin, and once again raises questions about Lion’s suitability as a licensee under the Act.
‘‘Sadly, this government has sold us all out to corporate profits, as it appears this Bill is a done deal.’’
