Green MP Chloe Swarbrick, for Auckland Central, weighed in on Dunedin’s drinking scene when visiting the University of Otago this week.
Speaking to the Otago Daily Times, Ms Swarbrick said she strongly believed the Sophia Charter had the potential to provide a framework to reduce alcohol harm.
"It has been really gutting talking to Sophia’s parents about how that hasn’t been a guiding star for the city council or for the university in terms of thinking about how to put in place a meaningful strategy and support."
Ms Swarbrick said there was an identity and association with excessive consumption of alcohol in Dunedin, with students in particular.
When the Government undertook its mental health and addiction inquiry in 2018, of eight universities, Otago University was the one where alcohol came up the most unprompted by students as a significant issue, she said.
"I don’t think that anyone really benefits from sweeping that under the rug and not addressing it."
Ms Swarbrick said there was a "spectrum of regulation" for substances.
At one end, there was complete criminal prohibition and a completely free legal market without regulation at the other.
Both ends of the extreme had entities, criminal or commercial, that were incentivised to exploit vulnerable communities to make a quick buck, she said.
Ms Swarbrick said there was a cultural barrier that stood in the way of better regulation on all substances.
This barrier was reinforced by advertising and sponsorship in the alcohol industry, that glamorised and normalised excessive consumption.
"In this country, it is normal to have a drink when you’re having a good day, a bad day or when you’re just having a day.
"Were that any other substance that we can think of, I think that we would be ringing alarm bells."
She said student flats, and other unsupervised venues, did not necessarily have the potential to generate healthier attitudes towards alcohol.
The shutting down of student venues which had a duty of care and provided a safe consumption space, were a classic example of a lack of consideration of the downstream impacts of alcohol regulation, Ms Swarbrick said.
