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Liquor report polarises industry stakeholders

A government-commissioned report recommending sweeping changes to liquor laws has polarised the many stakeholders involved and left Justice Minister Simon Power with some difficult decisions.Released by the Law Commission yesterday, the 500-page report re

NZPA
Wed, 28 Apr 2010

A government-commissioned report recommending sweeping changes to liquor laws has polarised the many stakeholders involved and left Justice Minister Simon Power with some difficult decisions.

Released by the Law Commission yesterday, the 500-page report recommends returning the alcohol drinking and purchasing age to 20, clamping down on advertising and promotion of alcohol, canning 24-hour trading and increasing excise tax by 50 percent.

The report's head architect, Sir Geoffrey Palmer, told reporters the aim was to reduce alcohol-related harm caused by New Zealand's growing culture of excessive drinking, and if recommendations were only adopted in part any impact would be watered down.

"No one policy in this sort of area works, that's why there are 153 recommendations," he said.

Mr Power, who is charged with considering the report, said he welcomed it, but he and Prime Minister John Key all but ruled out one of its main platforms -- excise tax increases -- soon after its release.

Green Party health spokeswoman Sue Kedgley said that was a disappointing example of ideology trumping evidence.

"Mr Power is ignoring the public health research that points to tax being a key and effective tool in reducing alcohol consumption."

She suggested the influence of the alcohol industry, which would be forced to increase prices, had played a part in the National Party's response.

The Law Commission received nearly 3000 submissions on the issue, labelling it a "social battleground".

Police, the Alcohol Advisory Council, New Zealand Medical Association, university professors, the New Zealand Nurses Organisation, Alcohol Healthwatch and some opposition MPs all reacted to the report by throwing their support behind it.

Youth groups, the Food and Grocery Council and the Hospitality Association were among those who slammed it as "nanny state" thinking.

The legal drinking age issue has been a hot potato since it was reduced from 20 to 18 in 1999, and Sir Geoffrey said he would like to see such decisions made on a party vote, rather than the historic conscience vote.

Age restrictions recommended in the report also stretch to eliminating the ability for under-20s to drink at bars, regardless of whether parents or guardians are in charge.

It would mean alcohol for teenagers at functions such as after-school balls would be out of bounds, while anyone besides a parent or guardian caught giving alcohol to a person under 18 could be prosecuted.

The report also pushes for more personal responsibility and recommends giving police power to serve a $250 "notice of debt" to anyone taken home, to a temporary shelter or police cells due to intoxication.

Mr Power said he expected the Government to outline its position on the report within weeks, but the Government has 120 working days to table an official response in Parliament.

NZPA
Wed, 28 Apr 2010
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Liquor report polarises industry stakeholders
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