Tip:
Highlight text to annotate it
X
TRANSCRIPT
This week we announced our alcohol law reform package.
Alcohol is a significant driver of crime.
It is a factor in 30 per cent of all police recorded offences, 34 per cent of recorded
family violence, and 50 per cent of all homicides.
The public has been calling for change and we have responded to this.
Our reform package focuses on minimising alcohol-related harm, particularly among young people.
The measures we have announced are an acknowledgement that the pendulum had swung too far towards
liberalisation of alcohol laws.
But we also know that there are a lot of responsible drinkers in New Zealand.
We don’t want to unduly affect them.
So we have been careful to get the balance right.
Today I’d like to run through a few of our measures with you.
First, we have decided to empower communities to decide on the concentration, location,
and hours of alcohol outlets for both on and off-licences in their areas.
That includes outlets such as bars, restaurants, and liquor stores.
Second, we are putting forward a split alcohol purchase age of 18 for on-license venues and
20 for off-license venues.
The National caucus will have a conscience vote on this particular part of the alcohol
reforms.
The split age reflects the different levels of supervision that apply to on-license and
off-license venues.
Third, we are going to restrict RTDs to 5 per cent alcohol content, and no more than
1.5 standard drinks per container.
RTDs are particularly appealing to young people.
In some cases, they don’t taste like alcohol but they can have a lot of alcohol in them.
Fourth, we’re giving parents more tools to manage their children’s access to alcohol
and requiring more parental and individual responsibility for supply to minors.
Fifth, we’re tightening the criteria for licence applications.
And finally, we’re increasing penalties for a range of licence breaches, including
selling to a minor, serving an intoxicated person, and allowing violent behaviour to
take place on premises.
This is just a start for alcohol reform and I encourage you to share your views with me.
You can leave a comment on my Facebook page or on my website www.johnkey.co.nz.