ALAC’s Law Commission Submission
Availability and access to alcohol is a major concern and there are proven evidence-based interventions we can introduce. We support proposals to introduce a nationwide set of trading hours, restricting off-licence hours to 8am to 10pm, and on-licences until 2am. ALAC proposes allowing for community say and local variation of these nationwide opening hours via a well-consulted local alcohol policy, and where each licence applicant is able to demonstrate that they have a plan to manage the risks of any extended trading hours. The nationwide hours will target the greatest harms (weekend night-time drinking) whilst not overly restricting the freedoms of most New Zealanders wishing to drink responsibly.
ALAC strongly supports the ability for licensing decision makers to refuse a licence on wider grounds than permitted at present, such as likely detrimental social impact and inconsistency with local alcohol policy. However, we do not support the proposal to remove restrictions on the type of premises able to apply for off-licences, because the proposed widened grounds for refusing licences will not be a sufficient safety net to control alcohol availability and the proliferation of alcohol outlets.
Driver alcohol and drug impairment is inflicting a very high and concerning cost on our society. Any initiative to reduce alcohol-related road crashes will also reduce the incidence of other alcohol harms. We strongly believe the legal blood alcohol content limit for drinking should be lowered to 50mg/100ml, and the under 20-year old limit lowered to zero, regardless of licence status.
Youth binge drinking is a characteristic of New Zealand’s alcohol environment. We know that about one-third of youth drinkers binge drink with negative impacts on themselves and society, such as alcohol-related offending, injuries and road crashes. As our young people will define New Zealand’s future drinking culture, they deserve the support and assistance of adults, whānau, communities and importantly our legislative system. ALAC maintains its historic position that the minimum purchase age should be 20 years. ALAC supports the requirement for parental consent for the supply of alcohol to a young person under the age of 18 years, and we recommend that it be an offence for any person to supply alcohol to a young person without the consent of a parent or guardian.
Early intervention in primary health is an identified gap in the current provision of health treatment and support for those New Zealanders with drinking problems. ALAC is keen to play a more active role and we believe that a comprehensive plan for alcohol treatment is needed.
The supporting management structures and tools available to those working in the alcohol sector are important to improve. ALAC recommends making the primary object of any new legislation the reduction of alcohol-related harm, which will provide guidance to agencies and authorities working in the sector. We believe that the licensing and enforcement system should: enable the proactive enforcement of the law and effective functioning of licensing bodies; further the object of the Act; provide flexibility to respond to changing needs and new technologies; ensure that licences can be revoked where fundamental breaches are shown, and; ensure community say in licensing decisions. Enforcement offences and tools should seek to balance harm reduction with the rights and freedoms of responsible New Zealanders.
Although the evidence base is increasingly clear about the adverse impacts of alcohol promotion, it is unclear how best to deal with the issue, while avoiding perverse results or unreasonably impacting on New Zealand’s economy. Given this complexity, ALAC recommends as a priority, that a whole of government process, similar to ‘Smokefree’, be initiated to deal with alcohol promotion. Measures should be undertaken to reduce the exposure of those under 18 years of age to alcohol advertising. There is a case to increase the retail price of alcohol to reduce the incidence of heavy sessional drinking. We support a minimum retail price policy in theory, but recommend further research and policy work to determine the magnitude and impact this would have. ALAC also recommends a legislative requirement that off-licence alcohol marketing and retailing practices are socially responsible, similar to that which already exists for on-licence practices.
Overall, ALAC believes that this opportunity to fundamentally review the sale of liquor legislation in New Zealand is our one opportunity in this decade to make real change and reduce alcohol harm. As such we should not be afraid to ensure we are sending the right messages and providing the needed support to those working to reduce alcohol harm. We need to provide a safe drinking culture for our youth and our future.
ALAC’s full submission is available at http://www.alac.org.nz/InpowerFiles/v1_ACTIVE-SubmissionforWeb-WorkSiteAcrobatIntegration.pdf.
January 05 2010 11:51 am | Policy and Legislation
first hand on 07 Jun 2010 at 5:00 pm #
I am in agreement with all of the above, which will naturally reduce our alcohol issues to some extent.
Having first hand experience with alcohol and its effects, I am also aware that the Police enforcement of the issue is the ambulance at the bottom of the cliff. Unfortunately, they mostly seem to be stuck in the rut of doing the same old thing. Not to mention that resourcing is not the best.
I have seen the affects of a concerted team of Police staff pre and post Christmas in a small-moderate sized town, where liquor licensing was their only focus. The affects on the town, Police and hospital E.D. was staggering.
With 50-70% of all attended incidents involving alcohol, how many Police staff are working on proactive licencing issues… …get real and look outside the square. Hammer the sale and supply issue and you are onto a winner.
Also, the age old western culture of drinking is not being tackled.
A genuine dealing to Parenting, culture, advertising, sport, Policing, will see a huge reduction. Not just lip service.
Pablo on 23 Aug 2010 at 8:50 pm #
If we are old enough to join the army and fight for our country, how can you tell me, can our rights to a casual beer or wine with dinner?