Wong Pansy: Sale of Liquor (Objections to Applications) Amendment Bill — First Reading 
Wong Pansy: Sale of Liquor (Objections to Applications) Amendment Bill — First Reading 
[Volume:648;Page:17163] 
PANSY WONG (National) 
: 
 We have just heard a very dejected speech from the Minister of Health the Hon David Cunliffe who sounds like he has given up. It was quite interesting actually that at the Asian meeting he attended along with Chester Borrows and me he thought that the cause of the violence problem in South Auckland lay with Maori and Pacific people and I am just surprised that he did not offer that up as part of his solution. It is interesting that after 9 long years this Labour Government is always quick to claim the credit when things go well but when the Government is faced by a problem that problem somehow is always the problem of society. Whenever things go wrong somehow it is always everybody else’s problem—it is amazing! Who is the only person the Government can reach out to for a solution to the graffiti and alcohol problems in South Auckland? It is the Hon George Hawkins. 
Hon David Cunliffe 
: I raise a point of order Madam Speaker. I am hesitant to interrupt the speaker who has only just managed to take a call after such a long wait but I wish to clarify a point of procedure. Is this bill a conscience issue with a conscience vote—as I understand it—or is it a matter of Government policy? If it is a conscience vote then I wonder whether the preceding comments criticising Government policy are in order. I ask whether you could advise on that point. 
The ASSISTANT SPEAKER (Hon Marian Hobbs) 
: The point the member is making is actually a matter of debate. But to clarify this is a member’s bill. 
PANSY WONG 
: Nothing the Minister does can stop the flow of a good speech. 
I will just mention the good member the Hon George Hawkins. He apparently is the saviour of the Labour Government whenever it is in trouble but somehow he is not good enough to be in Cabinet. But I say to Mr Hawkins that we are supporting his bill. We know that there is no silver bullet. National would prefer to have a full select committee inquiry into the drinking practices in New Zealand. Like many people we are finding it difficult because some young people admit that when they go out for a drink they want to get drunk. So there is an issue but there is no silver bullet. However doing nothing is not acceptable and we think that this bill is a first step in the right direction to start the debate. 
I want to share a practical experience. I attended one of the Botany Community Board meetings and coincidentally the board happened to discuss the liquor licensing issue at that meeting. One of the people from the Manukau agency of the Liquor Licensing Authority made a presentation. He pointed out that there is a problem because there is a conflict between the Sale of Liquor Act and the Resource Management Act. Some of us would believe that the Sale of Liquor Act would have enabled the authority to put some restrictions on the number of outlets in one location but the Resource Management Act apparently has a higher threshold. I hope that the select committee will take that on board. 
I also acknowledge Botany Community Board member Roy Bootle who was at that meeting. He is a very hard-working local personality. He understands and has worked very hard on the alcohol licensing issue. He was demonstrating how difficult it was for individuals like himself—even as a community board member—to object to and to negotiate opening hours. Sometimes the problem is not just with the number of outlets; it is where they are. The opening hours can also be a problem. It took Mr Bootle hours and hours to argue that it is not necessary for a certain bar to open right up until 4 in the morning. 
I hope that the select committee members will travel up to Auckland—particularly South Auckland—because a lot of good hard-working local people there have been wrestling with this problem for a long time and they will have a lot of practical suggestions and down-to-earth solutions to this issue. I reiterate National’s position: National would have preferred to have a select committee inquiry to address the issue of drinking practices but this bill will certainly be a first step on the journey to address this issue which is confronting New Zealand and especially Auckland.