Collins Judith: Sale and Supply of Alcohol Bill Local Government (Alcohol Reform) Amendment Bill Summary Offences (Alcohol Reform) Amendment Bill — Third Readings 
Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume 
Collins Judith: Sale and Supply of Alcohol Bill Local Government (Alcohol Reform) Amendment Bill Summary Offences (Alcohol Reform) Amendment Bill — Third Readings 
[Sitting date: 11 December 2012. Volume:686;Page:7348. Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume.] 
Hon JUDITH COLLINS (Minister of Justice) 
: 
 I move  
That the Sale and Supply of Alcohol Bill the Local Government (Alcohol Reform) Amendment Bill and the Summary Offences (Alcohol Reform) Amendment Bill be now read a third time 
. These bills provide a strong legislative framework for reducing alcohol-related harm. It is the first time in more than two decades that Parliament has acted to restrict rather than relax our drinking laws. Most New Zealanders enjoy alcohol in a responsible manner; however the harm resulting from excessive drinking strains our country’s health and law enforcement resources and causes people and communities a lot of grief and stress. These bills contain a wide range of measures that will help to bring a change in our drinking culture. They provide many parts of society from central to local government communities and parents with tools to make that happen. Some people including members of this House feel that the bills do not go far enough. However they strike a sensible balance and deal with the considerable harm that alcohol causes without unfairly affecting responsible drinkers. 
I would like to take this opportunity to outline some of the bills’ key measures that will help reduce problem drinking in our country. Let us look at access to alcohol. Right now we can buy alcohol in supermarkets bottle stores clubs bars and corner stores sometimes 24 hours a day. This is despite clear evidence showing a link between alcohol availability and harm such as crime and health problems. The Sale and Supply of Alcohol Bill which I will now refer to as “the bill” introduces national maximum trading hours of 7 a.m. to 11 p.m. for bottle stores supermarkets and grocery stores and 8 a.m. to 4 a.m. for restaurants bars and clubs. The bill also clarifies that dairies and convenience stores are not eligible to sell alcohol. Grocery stores which also sell a range of household products will still be eligible to hold licences. Definitions to make it clearer about the kinds of stores that can sell alcohol will be expanded on in regulations. 
Accessing alcohol is easier when there are more licences and communities have been telling us that they are concerned about the proliferation of stores selling alcohol in their areas. At present it is very difficult to successfully object to a licence application. Licence criteria are limited and licences are relatively easy to obtain. This can be frustrating and disheartening for communities concerned about alcohol-related harm in their areas. Under the bill licences will be harder to get and easier to lose. The bill introduces additional licensing criteria including whether the licence is likely to encourage heavy drinking or increase alcohol-related harm whether granting the licence will have a negative impact on the community—for example by increasing noise levels or vandalism—and any relevant local alcohol policy in force for the area. The new criteria come into force 6 months after Royal assent. Until then the existing criteria will continue to apply. The timing of this change has led to concern that people may apply for licences before the 6-month mark in order to avoid the strict criteria. The new Act will make it clear that any licence applied for in that 6-month period will receive an interim licence for up to a year. An interim licence cannot be renewed. Once it expires the licensee will have to apply for a licence under the new Act if they wish to continue selling alcohol. 
As mentioned earlier licences will be easier to lose. The bill increases focus on compliance by licensees and managers. Licensees and managers who repeatedly fail to meet their obligations under the new Act will lose their licence or certificate if they commit three specified offences within 3 years. They will also be subject to a stand-down period of 5 years. The bill also expands the range of offences for which an infringement notice can be issued and gives licensing inspectors the power to issue infringement notices for certain offences. These changes make it clear that there is no room in the industry for licensees and managers who do not take their obligations seriously. The bill also has a strong focus on local decision-making. At present licence applications that are opposed by police a licensing inspector or a medical officer of health are transferred to the Liquor Licensing Authority for a decision. This will be changed so that all applications will be decided locally by district licensing committees or DLCs which will replace the existing district licensing agencies. Each committee will be made up of two community members and an elected representative or a commissioner will be the chair. This means that representatives of the community will have a direct say in every licensing decision. 
Another important measure to give local communities a greater say is the option for communities to adopt a local alcohol policy. Under these policies communities will be able to restrict or extend maximum trading hours. They will also be able to limit the location of licensed premises near certain facilities such as schools and specify whether further licences should be issued in a defined area. There have been calls to make local alcohol policies mandatory; however there are important reasons why policies should be optional. Firstly there is significant cost associated with the development of a local alcohol policy. Some territorial authorities—particularly the smaller ones—may not want to fund the development of a policy. Secondly some communities may consider that a local alcohol policy is unnecessary for their area and that the national maximum trading hours a new criteria in the bill adequately address their needs. It is very important that we allow communities to decide what it is best for them especially given the aim of increasing community input and control over licensing. 
One of the key concerns of communities has been the impact of alcohol on young people. The new Act will have a special focus on this vulnerable group. We know that heavy drinking is not the exclusive domain of the young but young drinkers—particularly those under 15—suffer significantly more alcohol-related harm than older drinkers. The Government had proposed a split age of 18 years for bars restaurants and clubs and 20 years for bottle stores supermarkets and grocery stores. In August of this year this House voted to retain the current purchase age of 18 years. As many of you will know I was personally disappointed by this choice. 
However the purchase age is not the only tool available to reduce the harm for young people. The new Act will give parents more control over their children’s drinking and make adults’ responsibilities clear. Evidence shows that most under-18-year-olds get alcohol from their parents and other adults such as older siblings or friends. Often this alcohol is supplied in large quantities and without adequate supervision or controls. The bill changes this so that anyone who supplies alcohol to minors must have the express consent of the minor’s parent or guardian. All alcohol whether it is supplied by a parent or someone else must be supplied responsibly. These changes provide police with a tool to intervene in unsupervised or poorly supervised events such as after-ball functions or student parties. 
During the select committee process a wide range of submitters expressed concern about the exposure of children and young people to alcohol advertising. The bill prohibits advertising or promoting alcohol in a way that has special appeal to minors. It also expands other promotion offences to limit the harm of advertising. In supermarkets and grocery stores alcohol and any alcohol advertising and promotion will be restricted to a single non-prominent area that cannot be near the checkout or the entrance. This will mean that our young people are not constantly exposed to alcohol when accompanying their parents on trips to the supermarket. The Government has also agreed to establish an expert forum to consider whether further restrictions on alcohol advertising and sponsorship are required. The forum will report back to the Ministers of Justice and of Health within a year of the bill being passed. 
The Local Government (Alcohol Reform) Amendment Bill also makes changes to alcohol control bylaws which we know as liquor bans. These bans cannot currently cover places like supermarket car parks and school grounds which are areas where people including young people gather to drink. The Local Government (Alcohol Reform) Amendment Bill addresses this by expanding the definition of public place to include school grounds private car parks and other private spaces to which the public has legitimate access. This gives councils the power to make alcohol control bylaws covering these areas. The Summary Offences (Alcohol Reform) Amendment Bill also makes changes that will contribute to the effectiveness of the new framework. This amendment bill expands the definition of a public place to include vehicles in those areas. It also allows police to seize alcohol from a young person found drinking alcohol in a public place without a parent or guardian as well as allowing them to issue an infringement notice. 
As many of you will be aware these bills come into force in stages and will not be fully implemented until 12 months after the legislation is passed. This is to allow for the development of regulations to implement these bills. It will also give local authorities licensing bodies and licensees time to prepare for the changes. The Ministry of Justice is working closely with a range of agencies to ensure stakeholders are well-informed and supported during this implementation stage. I acknowledge that getting these bills through to this stage has been a very long process. I would like to thank all members of the House for their contributions to date.