Calder Cam: Alcohol Reform Bill — In Committee 
Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume 
Calder Cam: Alcohol Reform Bill — In Committee 
[Sitting date: 30 August 2012. Volume:683;Page:5005. Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume.] 
Dr CAM CALDER (National) 
: 
 Many of us may choose to sample a cleansing ale maybe a curvaceous aromatic red or a complex peaty Laphroaig single malt from time to time. Most New Zealanders partake responsibly. Sadly a significant number do not. The Alcohol Reform Bill is a multi-strand approach to minimise alcohol-related harms. The harms we are talking about are reflected in the crime statistics incidents of public disorder and the numbers filling our hospital casualty departments and wards. Alcohol is estimated to contribute directly to 1000 deaths a year and is a major driver of crime. It is implicated in 30 percent of all police-recorded offences 34 percent of all recorded family violence and 50 percent of homicides. 
Purchase age is just one of a number of strands of our reforms an issue upon which we MPs are privileged to have a conscience vote. We know that the purchase age itself will not be a cure or a panacea to fix the damage that alcohol causes in our society and we all acknowledge the need for a cultural shift in New Zealand’s attitudes. 
I acknowledge the fact that many young people drink responsibly and I acknowledge the fact that misuse of alcohol is not confined to the young. I do however support a rise in the purchase age to 20 at both on-licences and off-licences and there are a number of reasons for this. Crucially I personally have not observed any diminution in the level of alcohol-related harm since the purchase age was reduced to 18 in 1999. You could say that young people have had a 13-year trial to prove they could behave responsibly and the results speak for themselves. Working as a hospital doctor in the 1990s I spent many hours in accident and emergency attending to the victims of alcohol-related traffic accidents and violent assaults. Talking to colleagues who still practise medicine today I hear that this situation has only worsened. 
I admire the work that our uniformed policemen and policewomen do in our community and I have taken the opportunity to go out with police patrols on a number of occasions in Manurewa. Unsurprisingly alcohol was a factor in many cases that they attended. It is interesting to note that the Manurewa Youth Council and the results of my two surveys of the wider Manurewa electorate overwhelmingly support raising the purchase age to 20. 
I wish to acknowledge the Law Commission and I note that following a comprehensive review of international evidence about harm to teenagers from alcohol including four independent New Zealand public trials the Law Commission’s final recommendation was to return the purchase age to 20 for both licensed premises and off-licences. 
We have heard much about the rights of teenagers to access alcohol. The argument runs that if you can vote become an MP get married or go to war at 18 then why should you not be able to buy alcohol? The compelling argument is that voting becoming an MP or getting married do not normally lead to serious harm befalling the individual. Going to war of course is an exception but 18-year-olds are not sent off to war by themselves. They undergo rigorous training and are supervised by older colleagues. Interestingly enough to reduce the harm to them we do not let people go into casinos until the age of 20. 
The situation that pertains to New Zealand at the moment is that every 18-year-old has a licence to purchase alcohol with no supervision requirements and no restriction on their ability to supply alcohol to younger teenagers and children. It is very pertinent to note that a purchase age of 20 does not stop 18-year-olds drinking with adult supervision. We have a purchase age in New Zealand not a drinking age and it should be noted that as a parent when my daughters were younger I could take them into licensed premises and have a drink with them in supervised areas. 
Another concern I have is the neuroplasticity of the developing brain. Research indicates that for most people the maturation process involves a gradual shift from an instinctual brain response to a more rational one continuing well into the 20s. In other words a dose of alcohol in an 18-year-old has the potential to do more harm on average than the same dose in a 25-year-old. Delaying alcohol use decreasing the overall amount used before adulthood will reduce the variety of risks and it is also likely to impact upon the increasing incidence of foetal alcohol syndrome which is a serious and growing problem in New Zealand.