Bakshi Kanwaljit Singh: Alcohol Reform Bill — First Reading 
Bakshi Kanwaljit Singh: Alcohol Reform Bill — First Reading 
[Volume:668;Page:15271] 
KANWALJIT SINGH BAKSHI (National) 
: 
 It is my privilege to participate in the first reading of the Alcohol Reform Bill. It is one of the major reforms that this Government has initiated. Alcohol has been a part of all cultures in ancient history and we cannot ban alcohol from our society. But with this Alcohol Reform Bill we want to reduce the harm caused by alcohol in our society. 
The Alcohol Reform Bill will help to ensure that the sale supply and consumption of alcohol is undertaken in a safe and responsible manner. This bill also helps the system to minimise the harm caused by the excessive and inappropriate consumption of alcohol. The bill will repeal and replace the Sale of Liquor Act 1989. This bill will implement the Government’s decisions on alcohol law reform. These decisions were made in response to the Law Commission’s 2010 report  
Alcohol in our Lives: Curbing the Harm. 
Alcohol is one of the major causes of crime. The National-led Government under the leadership of the Rt Hon John Key; the Minister of Justice the Hon Simon Power; and the Minister of Police the Hon Judith Collins has been working hard to reduce crime in our society. The introduction of this bill is one more step towards making our society safe. 
I come from a part of the country in which there is a very high level of alcohol problems. I also represent a community that has a very high stake in this trade in the form of retail outlets liquor shops restaurants and bars. Alcohol plays a part in 30 percent of all offences and in 34 percent of all incidents of family violence. Alcohol is estimated to contribute to 1000 deaths per year. During the weekends about seven out of every 10 people who go to an emergency department are there because of alcohol. We cannot ignore these statistics. We have to tackle this problem. We have to reduce the harm caused by alcohol which increases crime. 
The alcohol reform package empowers communities. It zeroes in on where the harm caused by alcohol is happening—particularly with regard to youth—to control the supply of alcohol to reduce demand and to limit alcohol-related problems. 
The Minister of Justice has adopted in full or in part 126 of the Law Commission’s 153 recommendations. This bill will increase the purchase age. It includes a split purchase age. People must be 18 to drink in bars but they must be 20 to buy alcohol from off-licences. We are targeting young people because as the Law Commission reported young people suffer a high and disproportionate level of alcohol-related harm. To have any impact on our binge-drinking culture we need to start with young people by putting measures in place to control both the supply of alcohol to youth and the environment in which they drink. 
The Government has also recognised that different communities have different needs and that those needs are best understood by local people. This bill will empower local communities to address local issues—like the concentration location and opening hours of alcohol outlets—by having a local alcohol policy. Where there is no trading hours policy the maximum national trading hours will be 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. for on-licences and for premises with club licences and special licences and 7 a.m. to 11 p.m. for off-licences. Local communities not people in Wellington are best placed to decide how alcohol licensing should be treated in their own areas. That is why the bill empowers communities to adopt local alcohol policies. 
As a member of the Justice and Electoral Committee I am looking forward to public participation and to hearing the concerns and suggestions the public gives for our consideration. This legislation alone will not turn round our binge-drinking culture but it can help us to develop a more moderate drinking culture through controlling the availability of alcohol and it has a focus on youth. I commend the first reading of this bill to the House.