MEDIA RELEASE

10 September 2003

Alcohol strategy to reduce harm

Auckland City’s first draft alcohol strategy is available for public comment.

The draft strategy, approved to go out for public consultation following today’s City Development Committee, aims to help reduce alcohol-related harm and ensure consistency in all council policies relating to alcohol.

Auckland City’s community development planning manager, Judith Webster, says that the strategy has had input from a number of external agencies including the Hospitality Association of New Zealand, Alcohol Healthwatch, Alcohol Advisory Council of New Zealand (ALAC) and the New Zealand Police. The draft strategy has been strongly influenced by the central government’s national alcohol strategy.

It includes all the activities council will be involved with in the next three years including current and new actions.

Chairperson of Auckland City’s Law and Order Committee, Councillor Noelene Raffills, says the council is already involved in a number of initiatives to minimise alcohol related harm in the city, such as alcohol bans, liquor licensing policies and the establishment of alcohol accords.

Alcohol accords are a non-regulatory means of addressing safety and nuisance issues arising from licensed premises in the city. Accord partners include licensed businesses, the Hospitality Association of New Zealand, the police, Auckland City Council and Safer Auckland City.

Mrs Raffills says Auckland City is committed to raising licensees awareness of their responsibilities under the Sale of Liquor Act. The council aims to do this by providing licensees with relevant and easy to read information on the act, offering host responsibility training opportunities and giving licensees information on transport options which they can in turn pass on to their customers.

“We also plan to develop guidelines that outline the grounds for, and process of, objecting to liquor licensing applications and renewals. This information will soon be available to the public via the council’s call centre and Auckland City website,” she says.

“Alcohol is one of the key aggravators relating to crime in the city. It is crucial that Auckland City works with the community to pro-actively minimise the harm resulting from alcohol misuse. I urge the public to get a copy of the strategy and have their say.”

A copy of the alcohol strategy can be obtained by calling Auckland City on 379 2020.

It is anticipated that about $25,000 will be needed to implement the strategy.

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