O'Rourke Denis: Alcohol Reform Bill — Procedure In Committee 
Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume 
O'Rourke Denis: Alcohol Reform Bill — Procedure In Committee 
[Sitting date: 23 October 2012. Volume:685;Page:6051. Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume.] 
DENIS O’ROURKE (NZ First) 
: 
 I rise on behalf of New Zealand First to make some preliminary comments especially about the objects of this Alcohol Reform Bill. And I would have to begin by disagreeing with the Hon Lianne Dalziel on age. I and New Zealand First believe that age is in fact a very important issue and of course we have actually done with that issue. I think age could have made a big difference to the outcome for alcohol reform in this country and it is a disappointment that we have not increased it from 18 to 20 years of age. But I do agree with the Hon Lianne Dalziel that there are some equally important issues that we must deal with in the bill. 
Overall New Zealand First supports a more restrictive approach because we think that is what the majority of people in this country want and we think that is what is required to address the real issues. In doing so the use of alcohol is unproblematic as far as the great majority of people in our community are concerned. So we must take care not to unduly interfere with their right to use alcohol responsibly and sensibly. And we must also take care not to damage businesses that are responsible in the way they do their business. I refer especially to the many wineries in this country that assist our export interests and also support a flourishing local industry. I would not like to see and New Zealand First would not like to see any measures that interfere with their doing business economically and competitively. 
We must however target the alcohol abusers of all ages and harm reduction is of course the primary objective in the bill. We must especially combat the culture of abuse which has grown and grown and grown in this country especially since the time when the purchasing age was reduced to 18 years. We must attack the problem of youth binge drinking especially. And in that respect we do not think the bill goes far enough and we will be looking therefore to support some of the Supplementary Order Papers that have been put forward that we think would be useful in that respect. 
New Zealand First will however support only practical measures that are simple and easy to administer and that are understandable and fair. We will also support meaningful changes that actually make a difference to the problem of alcohol abuse and we will not be supporting purely philosophical approaches or those that we think are fundamentally grandstanding. 
New Zealand First is glad to see the provisions for territorial authority local alcohol policies. We think they can make a very significant difference to alcohol abuse and the reorganisation of alcohol in this country. We support localisation of as many issues as are appropriate and therefore we do support the part of the bill that relates to local alcohol policies as I have said. We would even support a broadening of those and we would be looking at the Supplementary Order Papers that look to do that. 
We will also support making local alcohol policies compulsory. We do not understand why it should simply be permissive and not a requirement that each and every territorial local authority in this country should be required to come up with a local alcohol policy. We are sure that every community in New Zealand would like to see that happen and so a compulsory regime we believe is appropriate. 
 We do think that local circumstances are very important when it comes to many issues relating to alcohol administration. You see in some places like Mount Maunganui Wanaka Queenstown and so on where holiday issues are very large—where people congregate in one area on particular days to abuse alcohol and for that purpose most particularly—those communities need to have local alcohol policies that specifically deal with those sorts of circumstances. We think that local authorities must take responsibility for alcohol issues in their district. It is not just a Government issue. Local authorities must get fully involved and must consult their community so that they know what their community’s expectations are. For that reason New Zealand First would support for example Supplementary Order Paper 116 and we see no reason why councils should not start work immediately on draft alcohol policies. We do not think there is anything in the bill that would make that difficult. We know that regulations still have to come but that should not get in the way of the work that needs to be made. 
In closing we would also say that local authorities will need to spend quite a time and financial resources as well on these issues. That is a concern to New Zealand First. We think it is a shame that excise and taxation issues are outside the scope of the bill because we would like to see a proposal that would divert some of the excise taxes to local councils so that they would have the resources to develop comprehensive local alcohol policies and have the funds with which to do it. 
With those comments New Zealand First looks forward to the debate. As I said we will be looking not only for a more restrictive approach but also for one that is sensible practical and will make a difference.