Parker David: Sale of Liquor (Youth Alcohol Harm Reduction: Purchase Age) Amendment Bill — Second Reading 
Parker David: Sale of Liquor (Youth Alcohol Harm Reduction: Purchase Age) Amendment Bill — Second Reading 
[Volume:635;Page:6356] 
Hon DAVID PARKER (Minister of Energy) 
: 
 I will make a contribution not about the sale of liquor and whether the age should be 18 or 20 years but about the supply—not sale—of liquor to minors under the age of 18. Contrary to popular myth currently there is no legal restriction on the supply of liquor to minors under the age of 18 for their consumption at private social gatherings. The supply does not have to be at the private gathering merely for one. It is lawful for any adult to so supply a minor with any amount of liquor even if that minor is not that adult’s child or under that adult’s guardianship. 
Currently it is also legal for one minor to supply another minor with any amount of liquor for consumption at a private gathering—it can be done in a car. There is no requirement that liquor supplied to minors be consumed under supervision. This contrasts poorly with laws for adults where obligations on those running licensed premises include a requirement not to supply intoxicated persons with liquor—there are no such restrictions in respect of supplies between two minors for private functions. 
This present law of course has undesirable effects on the availability of liquor to minors. It also places minors at risk in circumstances where their own parent or guardian may disapprove or not have the opportunity to approve or disapprove of the liquor being supplied. It is widely agreed that inappropriate drinking by minors carries a risk of adverse short-term and long-term effects upon them. Intoxication increases risky behaviour by minors. Immediate risks obviously include physical injury and accidents including car accidents while they are intoxicated and risks of accidental pregnancy or sexually transmitted diseases. Consumption of alcohol by minors is also correlated with higher rates of alcoholism for those minors in later life. 
The current loophole also makes it more difficult for the police to enforce other aspects of the Sale of Liquor Act because minors found in possession of liquor can then use the excuse that it was legally supplied to them by a friend or relative. This makes it more difficult for police to discover and prosecute those who do sell liquor to minors. The availability of liquor to minors through the current loophole is also a material factor in the incidence of intoxicated minors at both private gatherings and in public places. This loophole can be closed easily and it was proposed to be closed in Matt Robson’s original bill. 
The Law and Order Committee reversed that at the select committee stage and stated that it did not favour it and it is now no longer in the bill. I cannot follow the logic of the select committee members when they state that there is no need to tighten up on this exemption. I just do not follow their logic. They stated that one of the reasons they did not think it was right to make illegal the supply of alcohol to minors was that effectively it amounts to introducing a drinking age. It does not. Let us not forget that the reason we have laws to make illegal the sale of alcohol to minors is that we think it harms them. If we think that selling it to them harms them how is it any better to have unrestricted amounts of alcohol supplied to minors who are under the age of 18 years? So I am pleased that the Government has indicated it will look at this particular issue. I actually do not favour increasing the drinking age generally but I do think we have to do more to protect our young people from the effects of overindulgence in alcohol. 
One other issue I would like to see that review look at is the issue of alcohol consumption in cars. Cars are a means of transport normally. They are weapons in the hands of people who are irresponsible or drunk. Cars ought to be a means of transport not party venues. At the moment it is completely legal for people to use them as a party venue and to be honest I think that pissing up large in the car and rarking each other up is dangerous behaviour that we should protect young people from. 
So I am voting against this legislation but I do think there is a real problem in terms of the unrestricted supply of alcohol to minors. If I take my own situation my 13-year-old daughter could be supplied with unlimited amounts of alcohol without my permission and against my wishes and to her detriment—and there is nothing wrong with that at law. Changes to the law will not solve New Zealand’s alcohol problems but some changes to the law are necessary and will take us in that direction. So I really recommend that the House gets in favour of looking at the issue as to whether we have to tighten up the supply—not the sale but the supply—of alcohol to minors. Thank you.