Health Authorities Congratulate Auckland Council For Leadership On Alcohol Harm

Alcohol Healthwatch, Auckland Regional Public Health Service, Salvation Army and Counties Manukau Health are delighted with Auckland Council’s unanimous decision to support a Notice of Motion in support of Chle Swarbrick’s Private Members’ Bill "The Sale and Supply of Alcohol (Harm Minimisation) Amendment Bill".

The Private Members’ Bill was placed in the ballot in June 2021 and seeks to remove the appeals process from Local Alcohol Policies, end alcohol sponsorship of broadcast sport, and strengthen the criteria for District Licensing Committees to consider when making decisions on new alcohol licences and renewal of licences.

Luisa Silailai of Counties Manukau Health says "We warmly congratulate Councillors Josephine Bartley and Efeso Collins, who brought forward the Notice of Motion to be debated today by the Governing Body of Auckland Council. Their leadership to protect every community in Tāmaki Makaurau Auckland from alcohol-related harm is to be commended."

To inform the Council’s decision, Alcohol Healthwatch, Auckland Regional Public Health Service, Salvation Army and Counties Manukau Health joined together to present the evidence and community voices, urging the Governing Body to continue to show strong leadership by supporting the Notice of Motion as a step to supporting healthier environments free from the harms of alcohol.

Dr Nicki Jackson, Executive Director of Alcohol Healthwatch, says "The unanimous decision sends a strong message that leaders in Tāmaki Makaurau Auckland are rightly concerned about alcohol harm and want to see change. Local governments need to be empowered to protect their communities, but are powerless to do so with our weak alcohol laws and intensive resistance from the alcohol industry. Our environments are swamped with cheap alcohol, that is readily accessible and pervasively advertised."

In March 2021, Minister of Justice, Kris Faafoi, commented that he considered it beneficial to review the Sale and Supply of Alcohol Act 2012 so that it is fit for purpose and effective. However, communities continue to be unsuccessful in fighting new alcohol licences, with only two new on-licence and two new off-licence applications refused by the Auckland District Licensing Committee in the past two years. Alcohol outlet density is particularly high in South Auckland with no mechanisms in the Act to reduce saturation. This drives inequities in alcohol harm, that are disproportionately experienced by Māori, Pacific people and low income communities.

Alcohol Healthwatch, Auckland Regional Public Health Service, Salvation Army and Counties Manukau Health urgently request that Minister Faafoi and the New Zealand Government support the Private Members’ Bill "the Sale and Supply of Alcohol (Harm Minimisation) Amendment Bill", and complete a full review into our liquor laws.

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