Auckland City Council
Press Release
Voluntary Downtown Liquor Accord
Auckland City’s City Advocacy Committee today endorsed a proposed voluntary Downtown Liquor Accord and recommended that
Council take a leading role in finalising agreement and action on it.
In April Auckland City agreed with Auckland Police and representatives of the hospitality industry, to develop an
initiative that would allow entertainment and dining venues to be able to operate in a sustainable and responsible
manner through APEC, America’s Cup, Millennium and beyond.
The interested parties have met progressively since then and produced a draft Accord which was considered at a 14 July
Workshop. Representatives attended from Auckland City Environments, Auckland City’s Community Planning group (with its
Safer Auckland City programme), the Police, the Restaurant Association of New Zealand, and the Hospitality Association.
Parties to the draft accord believe it spells out the processes by which all parties could work together in the inner
city.
High on the priority list is maintaining a safe, inner city environment, and helping meet Auckland City’s strategic
goals of creating a City that is Alive and Exciting, and
A Great Community to Belong to (with the added dimension of creating a city more easy to move around in comfort and
safety). Now that guidelines are developed, the accord will establish a voluntary process with undertaking from all
inner city interests, enabling them to work together effectively.
Committee Chairperson Richard Northey said he was pleased to have the wholehearted support of the committee on this
issue.
"The committee will recommend to Council that they support the accord and become a party to it. There’s a recommendation
that they appoint a councillor to the proposed Accord Committee, in recognition of the accord being a success in its own
right and for the precedent it sets for the Karangahape Road and Ponsonby Road areas.
"Downtown and Viaduct Harbour have attracted a large number of liquor licensing applications in anticipation of
increased visitors expected for the America’s Cup. Although all Millennium events provide an impetus to reaching an
Accord, Council wants a lasting process for promoting joint initiatives of all those in the downtown area. It also wants
to resolve conflicts in the long term, so those areas remain a vital tourist mecca," Cr Northey says.
Cr Northey says the Accord Process aims at a win/win situation for those wanting a vibrant entertainment area and those
who want an area that is clean, safe and not too noisy to live and work in.
"This is the best option for all involved," Cr Northey says.