Tolley Anne: Alcohol Reform Bill — In Committee 
Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume 
Tolley Anne: Alcohol Reform Bill — In Committee 
[Sitting date: 30 August 2012. Volume:683;Page:5013. Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume.] 
Hon ANNE TOLLEY (Minister of Police) 
: 
 I am pleased to take a call and speak to Part 2 of the Alcohol Reform Bill. I want to make it very clear that I am standing here in this House speaking as the MP for the East Coast not as the Minister of Police. I represent an area that runs from just south of Gisborne around to the end of the Matata Straights. It is an area that has a population that is split 50:50 between Maori and Pakeha. It is an area that has a very young population. It has got the best surfing and the best beaches in the whole of New Zealand I reckon but unfortunately it also shares some pretty bad statistics. When you look at the statistics in my area on things like youth crime youth unemployment family violence drunk and disorderly behaviour drink-driving and crashes and injuries caused by alcohol we are always either at the top or very nearly at the top. 
I agree with the previous speaker the Hon Phil Goff that the debate here today on age is not going to solve on its own any of that—any of that. 
Dr Jackie Blue 
: It’s a starting point. 
Hon ANNE TOLLEY 
: But it is a starting point and there is a massive bill in front of this House that puts into play most of the Law Commission’s recommendations which will start addressing some of those bad statistics. 
 As an electorate MP I have always maintained that I am the voice of the electorate. So with this very important issue I have canvassed my electorate and I am here standing in the House today and will vote in accordance with the will that I have ascertained from my electorate. I have done that in a variety of ways. I have surveyed. I have had little slips for people to fill in at A and P shows and craft fairs. I have been out and talked with groups at every opportunity. I have met and talked with young people in high schools and the Students Against Drunk Driving. I have talked to young people. I have talked to old people. I have talked to people wherever I can get hold of them. I have talked to them about alcohol and what they believe the law of the land should be doing to help them as parents as members of the community or as students address the issues around alcohol that cause so many of those bad statistics. 
Of course everyone has a view and almost united they are all concerned at the predominance of alcohol in our community. They are concerned at the predominance of it in the damage that is done with binge drinking and at the damage that binge drinking causes young people. They get into situations where they are unsafe for themselves and for others. People are concerned at the number of driving accidents that are caused by alcohol the unwanted pregnancies that are caused by alcohol our soaring sexually transmitted disease rates which are in part caused by alcohol and of course the assaults and family violence that are caused by alcohol. 
So overwhelmingly—in fact I think the response to my survey was about 4500-odd replies—80 to 85 percent of the respondents in my electorate have said “Please put the drinking age back to 20. Please put it back.” That includes interestingly enough young students who have said “Please help us. Please help us because so many of our friends have been injured and are unable to manage themselves and we rely on you as the lawmakers of this country to put into place laws that will protect us and our friends.” So I stand in this House today on behalf of the people in the electorate of the East Coast who have responded to me over these past 12 to 13 months that we have been talking about this issue to say overwhelmingly that the experiment of lowering the drinking age to 18 has not worked. It has not worked to save and protect our young people in particular and we should raise the drinking age to 20.