Power Simon: Alcohol Reform Bill — First Reading 
Power Simon: Alcohol Reform Bill — First Reading 
[Volume:668;Page:15251] 
Hon SIMON POWER (Minister of Justice) 
: 
 I move  
That the Alcohol Reform Bill be now read a first time. 
 At the appropriate time I will move that the bill be referred to the Justice and Electoral Committee for consideration. This bill is the Government’s legislative response to the Law Commission’s report on alcohol legislation  
Alcohol in our Lives: Curbing the Harm 
. I acknowledge the Law Commission’s review the Hon Lianne Dalziel’s original referral to the Law Commission and the commission’s effort at my request to report back a year earlier than planned. 
New Zealand needs a safe and responsible drinking culture. The late 1980s saw liberalisation of the sale of alcohol to create a so-called European-style moderate drinking culture. Further changes followed in 1999. It is clear that those changes have not worked. Excessive drinking and intoxication contributes to our crime rate and our injury rate and affects our general health. It impacts on workplace productivity and contributes to family violence and child abuse. The direct cost to the Government of alcohol-related harm in New Zealand has been put as high as $1.2 billion per year. The costs to New Zealand society are significantly greater. But we must achieve a balance. Addressing harm must be weighed against the positive benefits associated with responsible drinking. The Government’s approach is therefore a considered integrated and balanced package that targets harm without penalising responsible drinkers. 
This is a large bill but its objectives are simple. It zeroes in on alcohol-related harm crime disorder and public health problems especially where our young people are concerned. It aims to reduce excessive drinking and improve the operation of the alcohol licensing system including community input on licensing and to support the responsible sale supply and safe consumption of alcohol. Licences will be harder to get and easier to lose. There will be more scope to object to applications and more grounds to decline them. The bill targets the proliferation of off-licences and clarifies the premises able to sell takeaway alcohol. Buying beer at the so-called corner dairy will end as these licences expire with no chance for renewal. Just as now supermarkets will be able to sell beer and wine but not spirits. 
The Government recognises that different communities have different needs best understood by local people. This bill empowers communities to address local issues like the concentration location and opening hours of alcohol outlets. These are local alcohol policies. Where there is no local trading-hours policy maximum national trading hours will be 8 a.m. until 4 a.m. for on-licences clubs and special licences and 7 a.m. until 11 p.m. for off-licences. Licensed decision makers will be able to set hours within and up to the maximum hours for individual licences. The only way the maximum hours can be changed is by communities through a local alcohol policy. The bill provides a small exception for Anzac Day but there is no other provision for extension of the hours even for nationally important or for that matter major televised events. I expect this issue will be the subject of careful scrutiny at the select committee. The bill focuses strongly on the high and disproportionate harm caused by youth drinking. Risky drinking behaviour is becoming increasingly normalised especially among our young people. The Government is not prepared to stand by and allow excessive and harmful alcohol consumption to be further ingrained into our culture. 
The Alcohol Reform Bill sets a foundation for change. It pulls a number of levers to reduce the availability of and demand for alcohol. Perhaps the most significant proposal is a split purchase age. The bill increases the off-licence purchase age from 18 to 20 while keeping the on-premises age at 18. This proposal is a starting point for debate. I expect the select committee will carefully consider any enforcement or employment complexities of a split purchase age. Supplying alcohol to minors without parental consent or in an irresponsible manner will be an offence. Responsible supply means that common sense host responsibility adult supervision the age of minors the quantity and duration of supply and the availability of food are particular considerations. This aims to encourage parental and individual responsibility for supply to minors and give parents greater control over the supply of alcohol to their children. I expect that the definitions surrounding these matters will be the subject of some discussion also at the select committee. 
Ready-to-drink alcohol has a strong appeal to young people and therefore a high potential for harm to this group. This bill enables the Government to regulate the size and strength of ready-to-drinks. We have proposed limits of 5 percent alcohol content and 1.5 standard drinks per ready-to-drink. Due to existing agreements with Australia a regulation-making process is needed to allow for required consultation. It will also ensure that accurate definitions are developed. This bill adopts further stage one of the Law Commission’s advertising recommendations. It strengthens the existing offence of promoting excessive consumption of alcohol by making it apply to any business. It will be an offence to promote or advertise alcohol that is free of charge to offer any goods or services on the condition that alcohol is purchased to promote or advertise alcohol in a manner likely to have special appeal to minors and to promote discounts on alcohol that could imply it is 25 percent cheaper than normal unless on licensed premises. I will be closely monitoring the submissions on advertising. The adoption of stage one of the Law Commission’s proposals is a starting point for Parliament’s discussion on alcohol advertising and the Government is not ruling out making further changes in the future. 
The bill also revises the criteria for creating liquor ban by-laws so that liquor bans are focused on areas where there is evidence of alcohol-related harm. Importantly and significantly the bill widens the definition of public places for liquor bans to include spaces like car parks and schools that the public can legitimately access. The bill introduces a more responsive penalty for breaching a liquor ban with the possibility of it being in the form of an instant fine issued on the spot or after arrest. Other enforcement changes include a provision for the automatic cancellation of a manager’s certificate for 5 years when a manager is found to have seriously breached his or her licence three times within 3 years. 
Finally the bill enables the Minister of Justice in consultation with the Minister of Health to ban particular alcohol products considered to be particularly dangerous to health or particularly attractive to minors subject to standard regulations processes. The Government continues to investigate minimum alcohol prices. I said when I announced these proposals that retailers would have a year to provide sales and price data after which regulation could be likely. I will advise by the end of the year what information is required and by when. Legislation alone will not change our excessive drinking culture. It can however help us to develop a safe and responsible drinking culture supported by robust public education and treatment interventions. 
For those many New Zealanders who have a very real interest in this particular subject matter now is the time. This is the moment when submissions should be made to the select committee to make those views heard. This forum over at least a 6-month period will provide the place for the public to have their say on this very complex difficult but essential issue for Parliament to consider. I am confident that this bill will help bring down our levels of alcohol-related harm. I am confident that the public will respond to Parliament’s intention to hear their views on this issue. I commend this bill to the House.