A community board chair has called on Christchurch City Council to follow Auckland's lead in banning the sale of alcohol at supermarkets and liquor stores after 9pm. Photo: 123RF
- Christchurch mayor Phil Mauger is keen to see how a 9pm cut-off for supermarket and liquor store alcohol sales works in Auckland
- A city councillor who voted against Christchurch developing a Local Alcohol Policy is also interested in seeing if it curbs alcohol harm in the supercity
- Christchurch City Council is in the early stages of developing a Local Alcohol Policy and a community leader says the city should follow Auckland's lead
- Auckland Council has unanimously voted for off-licences to stop selling alcohol after 9pm from 9 December and a two-year freeze on new liquor outlets in some parts of the city
Christchurch mayor Phil Mauger has added his voice to the call for the city to investigate 9pm closing for off-licence liquor outlets.
Last week, Waitai-Coastal-Burwood-Linwood Community Board chairperson Paul McMahon called on the Christchurch City Council to follow the lead of Auckland and introduce a Local Alcohol Policy enforcing a 9pm end to booze sales at supermarkets and liquor stores.
Christchurch City Council was in the early stages of developing its own local alcohol policy and Mauger was watching the outcome of Auckland's policy with interest.
"It's certainly got merit, in my view," he told RNZ.
"What's wrong with that? Nothing good happens after nine o'clock when you're out buying grog."
Mauger said McMahon's proposal was a good idea and he wanted to hear from his community and fellow councillors.
"I'd be keen to throw it out there with our people, with our council, because I think it's got merit. It really has. What's the downsides?" he asked.
"Most supermarkets shut at ten o'clock anyway, so nine o'clock to close that bit off is not the end of the world. If Auckland are thinking that, good on them and if it works up there we should certainly look at it."
Waimairi ward councillor Sam MacDonald, who voted against developing a local alcohol policy in Christchurch in June, was also keen to see how it worked in Auckland.
He was also interested in other aspects of Auckland's policy, such as a freeze on new liquor outlets in some parts of the city.
MacDonald was concerned about the distribution of liquor stores around Christchurch.
"If I go to some potentially low-decile areas of the city ... there appears to be a bottle shop on nearly every corner and to me that doesn't make sense. So I think the settings aren't quite right but I really want the evidence to really make sure we get to the point where we can have an impact," he said.
Auckland's plan appeared to strike a balance between allowing responsible on-licence premises to operate and curbing the antisocial behaviour which accompanied access to cheap alcohol.
"What I don't want to see is the hospitality industry decimated as a result of changes," MacDonald said.
"What Auckland has proposed is obviously quite different in that it leaves the hospo guys alone ... they've taken that different approach which is a wee bit more restrictive later in the evening on off-licence. I'm more than happy to look at that."
MacDonald still had concerns around an LAP for the city and did not believe it would be kept within the $20,000 to $100,000 estimate for development.
Harewood ward councillor Aaron Keown, the only other councillor to vote against developing an LAP, said he was not convinced Auckland was on to a winner.
"In my ward I get zero people coming up to me saying we need a Local Alcohol Policy to control people's drinking and drinking problems. They'll mention other stuff around it and the biggest one is some self-responsibility and if your actions are impacting other people then prosecutions towards that."
Developing a Local Alcohol Policy would be a waste of time and money that went nowhere, Keown said.
Hospitality consultant AJ McLellan-Minty said she wanted to see a cap on off-licence outlets, but was not convinced a change to closing times would reduce alcohol harm.
"Why don't we look and focus more on individual responsibility and put some tools and resources into educating people how to behave responsibly with consuming and purchasing alcohol, as opposed to hitting off [licence] premises."
