Calder Cam: Alcohol Reform Bill — In Committee 
Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume 
Calder Cam: Alcohol Reform Bill — In Committee 
[Sitting date: 24 October 2012. Volume:685;Page:6145. Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume.] 
Dr CAM CALDER (National) 
: 
 It is a pleasure to take a call on Part 3 of the Alcohol Reform Bill a bill that is the first step in decades in a push back against increasing liberalisation of alcohol laws. I agree with my parliamentary colleague Louisa Wall that alcohol does have a toxic effect on much of our Manurewa community and I can see real value in elements of Part 3 in helping to reduce the enormous harm that alcohol misuse does in our society and in our Manurewa community. It is believed for instance to contribute directly to 1000 deaths a year—1000 deaths a year. A major cost of approximately $5 billion is estimated to be due to alcohol-related harms and it is a known major driver of crime alcohol being implicated in 30 percent of all police offences 34 percent of all family violence and 50 percent of all homicides. This bill sets out to reduce those harms. 
One of the initiatives in Part 3 that I am most excited about is about local communities being able to create their own local alcohol policies. As a list MP I have chosen to base my office in the vibrant and diverse community of Manurewa and one of the earliest gatherings I attended in the Manurewa electorate was a public meeting regarding concerns about yet another alcohol outlet opening. I have heard from Louisa how many there are— 
The CHAIRPERSON (H V Ross Robertson) 
: Order! The member will use the member’s full name all the time. 
Hon Annette King 
: No the Speaker doesn’t mind if they use first names remember. 
The CHAIRPERSON (H V Ross Robertson) 
: I am in the Chair. 
Dr CAM CALDER 
: I have heard from the honourable member Louisa Wall the number of alcohol outlets in our community. The Manurewa community are all too well aware of the harms related to alcohol misuse. They have been active in making their concerns known in respect of possible solutions. In my two surveys of the electorate the overwhelming majority of respondents to those surveys were in favour of a purchase age of 20 years at both on-licences and off-licences. The Manurewa Youth Council has been actively involved as the honourable member Miss Wall has observed supporting a 20/20 purchase age. I argued for this in the House; sadly the motion was lost—a huge opportunity lost in my opinion but that is democracy. 
I know that the Manurewa community and communities the length and breadth of the country will be delighted with this legislation and Part 3 of the bill which empowers local communities to create their own local alcohol plan: the when where and how regarding licensed premises. Communities will have more important decisions. Local authorities will be able to limit the sale of alcohol and set conditions on licences. Councils will be able to develop local alcohol policies to determine the trading hours of licensed premises limit the location and density of licences and impose conditions on these licences. They can take into account the proximity of schools early childhood education centres and other community assets such as parks when forming their local alcohol policies. 
Further clause 100 which contains the criteria in the bill for the issue of licences is clear. Clause 100(1) states: “In deciding whether to issue a licence the licensing authority or the licensing committee concerned must have regard to … (c) any relevant local alcohol policy:”. Well we would hope that that would be the case. Under clause 100(1)(h) it must have regard to “whether (in its opinion) the amenity and good order of the locality would be likely to be reduced by more than a minor extent by the effects of the issue of the licence:”. New clause 100A(1)(b) requires the consideration of “the extent to which the following purposes are compatible: (i) the purposes for which land near the premises concerned is used: (ii) the purposes for which those premises will be used if the licence is issued.” Fundamentally then this bill broadens the matters that must be considered in licence decision-making and also affords a greater opportunity for members of the community to object to a licence application. 
In the absence of a local alcohol plan a national default mechanism of maximum hours exists. These are 7 a.m. to 11 p.m. for off-licences and 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. for on-licences. To me these provisions seem overly generous and I would expect many communities to ensure they formulate their own local alcohol policy to reduce the availability of alcohol in their own communities as they see fit. I applaud this local alcohol policy provision in the Alcohol Reform Bill and am sure it has the potential to lead to significant reduction in alcohol-related harms in our community.