Manukau wants new alcohol law now

Manukau Mayor Len Brown is urging the Government to immediately adopt a new law to control alcohol.

Manukau City Council is concerned the Sale and Supply of Liquor and Liquor Enforcement Bill may be delayed while a Law Commission review on liquor legislation is carried out.

The council presented its submission on the bill to a select committee last week. The submission calls for the bill to be adopted by September this year.

The bill will provide additional powers to the council to control alcohol in the city.

Included in the council’s submission is a request for local alcohol plans to be formally recognised. Currently, a number of councils have these documents which do not have any statutory status.

Mr Brown is confident that the council’s submission has been well received by the select committee.

“The bill needs to be adopted and should not be delayed because of the wider review on liquor legislation by the Law Commission.”

The deadline for the review of liquor legislation is mid-2010.

“This bill provides common sense provisions that can make a difference to people who live in communities affected by alcohol”, says Mr Brown.

The council is currently in the process of reviewing its alcohol strategy. It has asked Waikato University to research the concerns of the community and the problems it causes in terms of health and crime.

“The purpose of the research is to help determine the impact of controls such as location, hours and price on alcohol-related problems,” Mr Brown says.

The council has implemented a number of initiatives to reduce the harm of alcohol in Manukau. The most recent campaign was ‘Think Drink’ which discourages adults from buying alcohol for under-aged teenagers. A promotional video is played at the shop counter reminding people buying alcohol about the potential harm from under-age drinking.