Calder Cam: Sale of Liquor (Objections to Applications) Amendment Bill — Second Reading 
Calder Cam: Sale of Liquor (Objections to Applications) Amendment Bill — Second Reading 
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Dr CAM CALDER (National) 
: 
 It gives me great pleasure to rise and speak on the Sale of Liquor (Objections to Applications) Amendment Bill proposed by my honourable colleague George Hawkins 
MP for Manurewa. I am privileged to be the National MP based in the vibrant and diverse electorate of Manurewa and I have to report that there is a strong united voice asking for help in reducing the ravages of alcohol there. 
I have listened to residents’ views at many public meetings and sporting clubs when visiting the RSA and at the Sunday markets. It is a common theme. Responses to my recent surveys are clear. The pendulum has swung too far towards the liberalisation of alcohol laws. The residents of Manurewa know the statistics all too well. Many of them have suffered directly or indirectly alcohol-related harm. Alcohol is estimated to contribute to up to 1000 deaths a year and is a major driver of crime. Police say that alcohol is implicated in 30 percent of all recorded offences 34 percent of all recorded family violence incidents and 50 percent of all homicides. 
This National-led Government is committed to reducing the level of alcohol-related harm in all our communities. We are listening to public concerns. The Government’s package for alcohol law reform is the first stage in our response and adopts in full or in part 126 of the Law Commission’s 153 recommendations. Our package aims to achieve three things: less alcohol-related harm including deaths family violence drunken disorder and accident compensation claims; a reduction in our binge-drinking culture especially among young people; and a reduction in the number of alcohol outlets and their trading hours. 
A key feature that has proved very popular with the residents of Manurewa whom I have spoken to and I am sure with my colleague the Hon George Hawkins is that the proposed legislation will give the local Manurewa community the right to decide how many outlets there are where they are and how long they are open for. When a decision is made to grant a licence the objective of our law must be considered as well as the provisions of the local alcohol policy and crucially whether the amenity of an area would be lessened should the licence be granted. We are giving local communities the choice to determine the outcome in their area. We will be giving parents more tools to manage their children’s access to alcohol and requiring more parental and individual responsibility for supply to minors. 
As my colleague Chester Borrows pointed out earlier those ready-to-drink alcohol mixes that we call RTDs will be restricted to 5 percent for its alcohol content. I am delighted at this initiative. They taste like soft drinks but they pack a hell of a punch. Ready-to-drink products will be required to be sold in containers limited to holding no more than 1.5 standard drinks. We will investigate a minimum pricing regime by giving retailers a year to provide sales and price data. If they are not forthcoming then the Government will consider regulatory options. 
I applaud my colleague George Hawkins for bringing this bill to the House some years ago in an effort to get the then Labour Government to address this huge problem of alcohol-related harm. As I have outlined the National-led Government’s package of reforms is comprehensive and in the opinion of the Social Services Committee the package of reforms has actually overtaken this bill. The select committee has recommended that this bill not be passed as far more comprehensive legislation is imminent. It is for this reason I concur with the select committee that this bill should not be passed.