![Peter Stowe, of Rotorua: 'In New Zealand in general the culture [of drinking] needs to change.'](https://www.odt.co.nz/sites/default/files/styles/odt_story_slideshow/public/slideshow/node-276742/2016/04/peter_stowe_of_rotorua__in_new_zealand_in_general__5257de9a28.JPG?itok=HerjlPpt)
Queenstown's drinking habits are to be put under the microscope by the area's council.
The Queenstown Lakes District Council intends to develop a Local Alcohol Policy, as allowed for under the Sale and Supply of Alcohol Act 2012, and has asked for public opinion through an online survey.
The survey seeks to gauge opinions by questions such as whether alcohol is too accessible, whether drinking is a major problem in Queenstown Lakes District communities and whether one-way door policies should be in force after a certain time.
Bar and restaurant operator Good Group's director Russell Gray said the survey put too much focus on licensed premises, considering ''70% of alcohol consumption'' was consumed off licensed premises and, ultimately, the status quo was working well.
Good Group has bars or licensed restaurants nationally, including Harry's Pool Bar, Bardeaux, Barmuda and Minibar in Queenstown.
Mr Gray said in bars alcoholic drinks were measured and the area supervised which made them the best places to consume alcohol.
''The issues in the community are more about the pre-loading,'' he said, suggesting the council focus more on supermarkets where he said cheap liquor was available.
He criticised any one-way door policy as ''there's certainly no evidence'' which supported the policy had positive benefits.
''That would be a disaster.''
He felt the same about earlier closing times for bars, saying there was no correlation between hours of trade and disorder.
''The status quo seems to be working pretty well.''
What was disappointing about the Act was that it did not place much emphasis on individuals taking responsibility for their own actions, he said.
Queenstown police regularly dealt with intoxicated people.
Last weekend, for example, a taxi driver could not wake an intoxicated Australian tourist who fell asleep in his cab and asked the police for help at 2.25am on Saturday.
The disorder often continues on weekdays. Police arrested a 21-year-old woman for detoxification after she was knocking on residential doors at 6am on Monday. Sergeant Steve Watt, of Queenstown, said given the resort's ''high number of licensed premises it's a good time to discuss the issues surrounding liquor licensing''.
A report titled The Impact of Alcohol on the Health of Southern Communities, released in July, left no doubt the way alcohol was being consumed was harmful, with Lakes District Hospital having the ''highest overall prevalence of alcohol-related presentations''.
It also noted at all Southern hospitals ''a greater burden'' fell on the weekends, but the weekday burden ''was relatively high at Lakes District compared with the other two hospitals''.
Furthermore, in Queenstown, ''which has a higher density of licensed premises and longer opening hours than the other cities'' the prevalence of people seeking help for alcohol-related issues remained high after 4am, whereas there was a ''sharp drop'' at Dunedin and Southland.
St John Central Otago territory manager Kelvin Perriman, of Queenstown, yesterday said alcohol-related incidences ''certainly keep us busy and sometimes unnecessarily busy''.
''The licensing hours do need to be reviewed regularly as we see quite nasty alcohol-related injuries between 2am and 5am, so we'd like to see some work to minimise that,'' Mr Perriman said.
Council regulatory manager Lee Webster said a Local Alcohol Policy would be flexible enough to cater for the different needs, expectations and preferences of all communities in the district. Wanaka and Queenstown already have different closing hours, for example.
The council's survey is open until November 1 and is on the council's website.
Survey questions
Sample questions in the Queenstown Lakes District Council's alcohol survey:
• If a one-way door policy were to operate, what time would you set as the time when new patrons could not enter bars?
• What are your views in regard to the total number of places where alcohol is sold in Queenstown?
• When do you think licensed premises in your neighbourhood should be allowed to sell alcohol?
• How many times have you personally been affected or seen an intoxicated person in public areas in the district in the past 24 months?
