The Wellingtonian editorial: Laws that don't make sense

A law or by-law is flawed if those charged with enforcing it are expected to do so selectively.

There have been three recent examples in Wellington:Wellington City Council has begun reducing the speed limit in 21 areas around Wellington from 50kmh to 30kmh.

While the intention might be noble, even if the council seems to be wielding a wide brush, this is going to cause problems.

As we indicated on our front page last week, police guidelines state that those speeding within 250 metres of a speed limit change are to be given lower priority. Speeding tickets are less likely to be issued in such circumstances.

Many of the proposed lower speed zones are less than 250 metres long, so there are few places where tickets are likely to be issued.The parking rules in Thorndon on match day at the stadium.

Sports fans attending evening matches at the stadium have been getting hammered with parking tickets in Thorndon because of a by-law giving the council the right to have parked cars ticketed.

This despite the fact that the businesses there are closed on Sunday evenings, that the road is quiet and that the parks are normal car parks except when the stadium is in use.

Those complaining were told this was part of the resource consent conditions and that tickets simply had to be issued. Now, of course, we find that is not correct.

There was an element of money-grabbing in the issuing of the tickets, and of the council not acting in good faith.

Eventually the complaints got too loud – and were so obviously justified – and the council instructed parking wardens not to issue tickets.

What the council should do, of course, is change the by-law so parking a car in a normal parking space is no longer illegal.The proposed all-encompassing public place liquor ban.

This one may be the most stupid of all.

The initial problem was a gathering of homeless people around Glover Park, off Ghuznee St, and other places.

In 2004, the council dealt with the problem by banning liquor in the inner-city on weekends.

But what about those drinking the rest of the time? The ban was soon extended to fulltime.

This did not remove the problem; it merely moved it.

Pretty soon residents of Mt Victoria and Oriental Bay complained that street drinkers had moved into their suburbs, so the ban was further extended. In 2008 it was extended again, to Aro Valley and Central Park.

The problem area now, evidently, is Newtown.

In response the council is proposing its all-encompassing ban.

You won't be able to legally have a wine during a family picnic at Botanic Gardens or have a beer during a barbecue round at Breaker Bay.

When it's pointed out to the council how absurd this is, the response is that the police will use their discretion – ignore the law.

The solution, of course, would have been to deal with the problem of the homeless properly. A wet house might have been a good start.

Of course, a lot of the alcohol problems arise from people who have been drinking in pubs, so no ban, no matter how all-encompassing, will solve that.

What will the council do next – ban pubs?

- The Wellingtonian