Call to end our binge drinking

STEPHEN FORBES

AT LEAST one west Auckland bar manager says calls for tougher liquor laws will do little to address the country's binge drinking culture.

Jeremy Cameron from the Origins Restaurant and Bar says a number of recommendations outlined in a newly released Law Commission report will make no difference.

Alcohol in Our Lives: Curbing the Harm lists 153 suggestions for the government to ponder. Included is an increase to the excise tax on alcohol, a raised drinking age of 20 and 4am closing for licensed premises.

The report also calls for communities to have more say on how and where liquor is sold and calls for a crackdown on promotions that encourage excessive drinking.

Mr Cameron returned to New Zealand nine months ago after spending 12 years overseas. He has run bars in Europe, the United Kingdom and Australia.

He's got no problem with government regulation of the industry but does question some of its methods.

"I just think they have unrealistic goals for what they want legislation to achieve. They aren't going to cure all the problems we've got with alcohol with a law change.

"I think New Zealand's biggest problem with alcohol abuse is the binge drinking culture.

Raising the drinking age from 18 to 20 years old won't achieve much, he says.

"You will still get 15-year-olds going to hospital to get their stomachs pumped from drinking at parties."

Law Commission president Sir Geoffrey Palmer says people who enjoy alcohol socially and drink in a responsible manner will be largely unaffected by the recommendations.

"Our reforms are firmly targeted at reducing the harms associated with heavy drinking and drinking to intoxication."

Waitakere deputy mayor Penny Hulse fully supports the commission's findings.

She says most people enjoy drinking alcohol responsibly.

"But something has gone fundamentally wrong with how we drink as a nation.

"Our family violence statistics in Waitakere are enough to make your hair curl and alcohol is at the heart of it.

"People get concerned about P and other drugs, but most of the crime in our city is fuelled by alcohol."

Mrs Hulse says the commission received almost 3000 submissions as part of its review of liquor laws and the message is clear – something has to be done.

Justice Minister Simon Power says the government will consider the recommendations and present its response to Parliament in the next four months.

"I have previously made it clear that legislative changes to alcohol laws are likely and my intention is to deal with this before the end of 2011," he says.

- © Fairfax NZ News