Alcohol Reforms Need to go Further - Kiwi Party

Press Release
10 March 2011

The Kiwi Party has joined the chorus of submissions urging the Government to go further with its alcohol reforms.

“The Government has put forward some excellent proposals; however there are several crucial areas where the Government has fallen well short of the mark in addressing the concerns of the majority of New Zealanders,” said Dr Philip Wescombe, the Party’s spokesperson on alcohol.

“One such issue is the need to raise the purchase age to 20, which has been consistently supported by more than two thirds of New Zealanders in polls over the last few years.

“Underage drinking problems would be further reduced by requiring that only a parent or guardian be permitted to supply alcohol to any person under 20 and additionally, must be present when that alcohol is consumed. There is no doubt that assigning this level of responsibility to parents and guardians will reduce the availability of alcohol to teenagers.

“The rapid proliferation of alcohol outlets that has occurred since the loosening of the alcohol laws in 1989, has brought us to the point of having more outlets in New Zealand than Australia, with the ensuing increase in alcohol-fueled violence, drink driving and public drunkenness. The Government must introduce an attrition system similar to that for pokie machines where licenses are not renewed for smaller premises until a density per capita more consistent with our population is reached.”

The Kiwi Party is also disappointed with a lack of action on supermarket sales of alcohol.

“If the drinking culture of New Zealanders is to be changed, then there needs to be a dissociation between alcohol and food, because at present supermarket sales of alcohol send the message that alcohol is a harmless substance that can be consumed without consequence. The segregation of alcohol by a solid walled area with a separate entry from normal grocery items, would demonstrate that alcohol is not in the same category as food and other essentials. It will also simplify compliance with age laws, yet still allow the convenience of wine and beer purchases at the supermarket for responsible drinkers. This would also help people who are trying to recover from alcohol related disorders such as alcoholism, by allowing them to enter a supermarket without visually encountering easily available alcohol,” said Dr Wescombe.

A phasing out of alcohol advertising and event sponsorship resulting in a total advertising ban similar to that for tobacco, lowering the drink driving limit to 50 mg per 100 ml of blood, restricting off license premises to trading between the hours of 8 am and 10 pm, no off license alcohol sales on Sundays and the re-introduction of the offense of being drunk in public, were other recommendations put forward by the Kiwi Party.

Ends.

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