Under the scheme, adults interested in becoming members of the RSA can become provisional members for a month, during which they enjoy most of the benefits of membership, including drinking at the respective club.
A month later, they either seek full membership or their provisional status lapses. After a hearing in Dunedin yesterday, Judge Kevin Kelly, of the Alcohol Regulatory and Licensing Authority, said the authority had reserved its decision, which would be available in about a month.
The judge questioned if seeking the authority’s view on aspects of the membership initiative via an enforcement application was necessarily the best way of gaining the view sought.
"Facts are always king in a court," he said, and added that the authority might not necessarily be drawn into offering wider views beyond the specific facts.
The authority would need to consider if this was "an area where we’re prepared to provide any guidance", the judge said.
Dunedin City Council licensing inspector Tony Mole said his application aimed to clarify the legal standing of aspects of the membership scheme, and he was not seeking any penalty against the Mosgiel RSA.
Mr Mole had not opposed a recent regular renewal of the club’s licence, through the Dunedin District Licensing Committee, he had no concerns about the club’s overall compliance and it was at "low risk" of breaches.
But he had raised the matter with the authority, after discussing it with the RSA.
On March 31 last year he went to the Mosgiel RSA with a group of people, one of whom had applied for provisional membership, enabling that person to be served and others in the group to drink alcohol as his guests.
The Mosgiel club had changed its constitution to allow for the provisional membership, and Mr Mole had heard of some concern within the club about aspects of the widening of the club’s membership.
Mr Mole said the person who had signed up for provisional membership was technically a member of the club under its constitution, but said this form of membership could be a "device" to avoid the usual restrictions on access to alcohol inherent in ordinary club membership. For the RSA, Jeremy Hunter, of Wellington, said the national RSA provisional membership scheme was a legitimate marketing move and a "genuine attempt to get more people in", by encouraging them to consider joining the RSA in the long term.
It was not a "device or a sham" and was not a form of "day membership" or any attempt to circumvent the law. This membership scheme was part of the RSA’s national efforts to reinvigorate itself and it had enjoyed significant success, with increases in club membership of 25% or more in various clubs.
The RSA believed its current scheme was fully lawful, but was also prepared to consider adding a stand-down element, so that provisional membership rights would not apply immediately, he said.
After the hearing, national president Barry Clark, of Christchurch, said the RSA was mindful of the queries which had been raised by Mr Mole.
As a national organisation, the RSA sought to operate in a way that was beyond reproach, and gaining a response of national standing from the authority would be helpful in ensuring this.
The RSA dealt with district licensing committees throughout the country and these could have "different views", he said.
