Sabin Mike: Alcohol Reform Bill — In Committee 
Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume 
Sabin Mike: Alcohol Reform Bill — In Committee 
[Sitting date: 24 October 2012. Volume:685;Page:6149. Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume.] 
MIKE SABIN (National—Northland) 
: 
 It is a pleasure to take a call on this very important bill the Alcohol Reform Bill and to reflect on my time as a former police officer and the difficulties that alcohol has presented in communities across New Zealand. At the outset I would like to make it clear that my view was that the purchase age for alcohol should be 20 years of age and I have what I believe to be very well-founded reasons for that. But be that as it may it is clear that this bill has a number of other interventions that will go to restrict access to alcohol by young people in particular provide better tools for our community and go towards our goal of reducing the harm that alcohol causes. 
On that point it is important to note that although I believe that the purchase age of 20 was important it is not the panacea. There are many other provisions in this bill that I think will make an important difference and I want to speak to one of those. It is contained within clause 224 and relates to the express consent of a parent for a minor consuming alcohol. If we think of the scenario of a gathering of some young people and a responsible parent having invested in the child’s understanding of the implications of alcohol abuse and so on sends their child to a party where alcohol is provided and is flowing freely and where supervision of those youngsters drinking alcohol is poor and before the night is out the young person is in a situation that is out of control. Adults in that environment indeed become powerless as do the police when eventually all too often they are called to intervene. 
This provision allows better tools for responsible parents to ensure that their children are treated with the same level of responsibility by those who would be supervising them. So this provision will ensure that parents who are hosting young children or supplying those under the age of 18 with alcohol must do that with the express consent of the parent of that child. That in itself provides a meaningful tool but the provision will go on to ensure that the parents not only receive that express consent but also ensure that the hosts are actually in supervision of the young people so that they cannot just go out of control. That in itself will help to limit parties that would quickly mushroom from a few individuals enjoying a social occasion to hundreds of people sprawling across the neighbourhood and a situation that is very very difficult to contain. 
This provision will also go on to require that the alcohol is provided in a responsible manner. I want to read specifically what that will entail. In my view it is something that a responsible parent would do as a matter of their role as a parent but unfortunately they are being let down by those who do not take that caution. That position will no longer be acceptable with this bill. Let me read the clause specifically. The parent concerned taking account of their supervision must “take into account the following: (a) the steps taken by the supplier to supervise the consumption of alcohol: (b) whether food was provided with the alcohol: (c) whether a choice of low-alcohol or non-alcoholic beverages or both was offered: (d) the nature of the occasion: (e) any arrangements for or provision of safe transport: (f) the period over which the alcohol was supplied: (g) the strength and volume of the alcohol supplied: (h) the age of the minor:” and anything else that the court were it the case that it were involved needed. In essence what this provision allows for is the ability for some more stringent guidelines around the responsibility required when young people are supplied with alcohol and some fairly clear guidelines for the court for it to make a balanced decision as to whether or not the parents responsible have actually carried out a degree of responsibility in the manner in which the alcohol has been supplied. 
As I mentioned one of the challenges with the consumption of alcohol in New Zealand has been the purchase age. It is fair to say that outside of licensed premises where alcohol is provided in a private context often to people considerably younger than 18 years of age many of the problems certainly that I witnessed as a police officer have been present. The ability now for responsible parents to know that that child goes out with their express consent or not as the case may be and that the parent receiving them must acknowledge and establish that platform I think is a very prudent and responsible tool that parents will gladly utilise in their struggles in a culture that has been a sad reflection on many of us in society in terms of binge drinking. I believe that this provision goes to the heart of what many features in this bill are about and that is about restricting access to alcohol and ensuring that there is more accountability and greater accountability in areas that matter. 
There is no one provision within this bill—in fact there is no one activity that we as a community could take on—that is going to solve this issue. More so it is my belief that it is a combination of a number of different instruments as well as an acceptance from all of us whether we be parliamentarians police officers schoolteachers or indeed young people that taking on a sense of personal responsibility and taking on an understanding of the consequences of the behaviour of all of us and the examples that we set is all part of what needs to happen. This particular provision I certainly support. I support the Supplementary Order Papers that make minor amendments to this particular part of the bill. It is my hope that from this exercise over the many months that this has been in discussion we as New Zealanders take on an understanding and take on a little of the responsibility that we all must if we are going to address the problems that alcohol has caused in our country. I am very happy and commend this part of the bill to the Committee.