Kerre Woodham: Restricting alcohol sale is the way to go

I'm not drinking at the moment, but that doesn't mean I think everybody should give it up. People can go to hell in their own way, and while there are a small number of people who cause disproportionate, dreadful harm because they don't know how to drink, the majority of New Zealanders can enjoy a tipple and go about their business without smashing up people, property, or themselves. So, if you like a drink, fill your boots, sláinte, cheers.  

But at the same time, I have no problem at all with the Auckland Council introducing stricter trading hours and a two-year freeze on new liquor licences. Currently, alcohol can be sold until 11pm in offies, including bottle stores and supermarkets.  So, they're not saying you can't buy alcohol. They're saying you can, you just have to get to the offie before 9, be a bit organised. Applications for new bottle shops in the city centre and 23 other suburbs will also very likely be rejected for the next two years, unless an extraordinarily high threshold is met, which is jolly good news for those who've got existing licenses. There's an old saying that suburbs are on the decline when bottle stores open up, suburbs are on the rise when coffee shops open up, and that's probably true.  

But we can booze every day if we wish. We can buy it from supermarkets, dairies in some places, bottle stores, restaurants, bars, and we can buy it online. So nobody's saying you can't buy booze, they're just restricting the hours when you can buy it. They're saying, you know what we think we've got enough bottle stores around the city, you can walk to your nearest one, you'll be fine. Josephine Bartley, the Council spokesperson, said it's not a ban on drinking, it's about working together to create a thriving, safe and healthy region for everybody. Is it going to stop those who can't handle their drink getting completely smashed and doing terrible damage? Sadly it won't, they'll still get their hands on the booze. Is it going to stop underage drinking? Sadly, it's not. If young kids want to get their hands on booze, they will find a way of doing so, either through mates, nicking it. Is it going to stop people who like to have a drink with their dinner being able to access a nice bottle of red or white depending on what's on the menu that night? No, it's not.  

So not much has changed in terms of people's ability to access alcohol, other than reducing the hours. It would probably be a good thing to see a sinking lid right around the country, whereas if you leave a licensed establishment you can't go into another one. Because really, what good comes between the hours of 2am and 4am? Very little, even with the best of intentions. I guess the only question around this, given that really is anything going to change is, should they be stricter? Should it be 9am to 5pm and that's that? Should you only be able to access alcohol like car-less days, you've got one day to top up and that's the end of that, the rest of the time, no. No, that would just create another thriving form of income for gangs. Restrict the hours till further, have the sinking lid when it comes to licensed establishments, encourage people to drink at licensed restaurants and bars where there's an onus of responsibility on the managers to ensure that people don't get completely and utterly off their chops, and that might work.  

Surely we've got enough bottle stores, surely we've got enough places to buy alcohol. And if you can't stagger up the hill to your nearest coffee, you can order online. If you just can't face that walk, order online. Sensible. Normal. We don't want to make it something glamorous and something prohibited because that would just make it more attractive. Just bring the number of places you can buy it down and the hours in which you can buy it, reduced. Encourage people to go to bars and restaurants. It's too expensive. Yes, therefore, you'll drink less. Don't have a problem with that at all.   

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.