Adams Amy: Alcohol Reform Bill — Second Reading 
Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume 
Adams Amy: Alcohol Reform Bill — Second Reading 
[Sitting date: 13 September 2011. Volume:675;Page:21213. Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume.] 
AMY ADAMS (National—Selwyn) 
: 
 I am very pleased to be the final speaker in the second reading debate of the Alcohol Reform Bill. I do not want to traverse a lot of the ground that has been well covered by others in this debate but let us just say that across the House I think we have agreement that control of alcohol and dealing with the harm it causes is an issue that we all acknowledge to be a significant one for our society. I think where the differences start to come in is that on this side we are very aware that although legislation is absolutely a part of that solution it will never be the whole of it. We have to recognise that and if we think there is anything this House can do that would deal with all the issues around alcohol short of prohibition—and history tells us that would not work either—then we are not being realistic. 
For myself I came into the Justice and Electoral Committee while that committee was part-way through consideration of this legislation. I want to add my voice to those who have already commended the chair Chester Borrows for the excellent process he ran and in fact all of the committee members for what was I thought the very constructive way they approached this bill from all sides of the House. 
In listening to the debate this afternoon I have been surprised by how little some of the specifics within the bill have been touched on. I will certainly not run through them all but I do want to comment on a couple of the provisions that I am particularly enamoured of. I think the most important of all the changes this bill will bring is the ability for local communities to have a much greater say in where and how alcohol is sold in their district. If there is one thing I hear as a local electorate MP it is that communities want to have a say on where alcohol can be sold within their communities. In fact they are always staggered to find that under present law they do not. This bill will deliver that to communities. It will allow the people of Selwyn and communities like Halswell and Rolleston where these are pressing issues to work with the Selwyn District Council to ensure that the planning rules reflect their needs. I think that is a tremendous advancement in the law on alcohol control. The bill as reported back from the select committee will be effective in decreasing the visibility of alcohol in our supermarkets and I think that is a positive step forward. 
The other thing I think is worth commenting on—and I do so as a parent of children reaching the age where I am sure I will have to deal with these issues—is that I am very pleased to see that the bill contains a provision that would make it an offence for anyone to supply alcohol to those who are under 18 without their parent’s or guardian’s consent. It is my job as a parent to decide how I want to raise my children in terms of alcohol consumption. I would be horrified if my young teenage children were to go to parties and be plied with alcohol by other parents or older children without me knowing about it. I absolutely endorse that new offence provision. 
The other area where I think tremendous steps have been made—and there are many—and the one I want to touch on is the fact that this bill increases and enhances penalties for irresponsible marketing of alcohol particularly those products and marketing promotions that are specifically aimed at targeting young people. That sort of behaviour is reprehensible and should be stamped out and this bill sets up the tools for that to occur. 
In closing the comment I make on the balancing of interest we have had to do in this bill is that I think it is very important that on any issue this House deals with and in particular those that cut across all of society we do not just listen to the activists who beat a path to our door. Of course we must hear from them but I think it is valuable to go out stand on the streets in our shopping communities and shopping areas—as I have done around Selwyn—and talk to the people who would not necessarily make an appointment to come and see their MP. I have spent many an hour standing asking people what they think about alcohol reform whether we should have alcohol in supermarkets what the purchase age should be and whether they want other people to be able to supply alcohol to their children. Having done that for many hours and having talked to very many of my constituents I am convinced that the moderate and sensible but important advancements we have made on alcohol control are a good balance between curbing alcohol harm and still protecting—as colleagues on this side of the House have said—the responsible use of alcohol which most New Zealanders are able to enjoy. 
Let me just close where I began by saying that legislation is a part of the solution. It will never be the whole answer; that is something for the whole of society to continue to address. But I am very happy to commend this bill to the House.