Liquor ban may include suburbs

Council to meet next week

Suburban boozers who gather outside Palmerston North shopping centres could have their alcohol poured down the drain if a city bylaw is beefed up.

Palmerston North City Council will decide next Wednesday if it will carry out a liquor review, which is likely to result in either a stricter regime or the status quo.

Councillor Lew Findlay said the central city liquor ban should be extended to shopping centres in the suburbs.

"If nothing else, it gives the police the authority to be able to do something," he said.

A report to the council's planning and policy committee said there was "ample anecdotal evidence" of problems caused by people drinking in the central city, including violence and disorder.

Other areas that could come under scrutiny included Milson, Highbury, Awapuni, Hokowhitu, Summerhill and Kelvin Grove, Mr Findlay said.

Councillor Michael Feyen said he did not want the city to head down the path to prohibition.

Cheap supermarket sales of alcohol were the real problem, he said.

On average, there have been six liquor ban breaches in the central city every weekend since 2003, according to SafeCity Hosts.

Those breaches involve about 14 people each weekend.

Police have arrested more than 1000 people for liquor ban breaches since December 2003.

Seventy-eight per cent of those arrested were prosecuted, convicted and fined.

Offenders have been fined a total of $142,000 since 2003, with an average fine of $178. The smallest fine was $50. The largest was $500. More than two thirds of fines were between $150 and $250.

Hokowhitu Four Square and Lotto owner Bill Xu said he would love to see the liquor ban extended to include Hokowhitu village.

"There are often broken bottles that need cleaning up from parties.

"It would be a good thing for the community," he said.

Summerhill's Rendezvous Restaurant and Bar co-owner Mel Antonio said extending the liquor ban would make no difference because there were no problems from people drinking in the shopping area there.

Councillor Pat Kelly said he would support a stricter regime, but he was sceptical about the effectiveness of the bylaw.

People tended to turn a blind eye to alcohol-influenced anti-social behaviour.

Business owners needed to be held more responsible for the behaviour of patrons, Mr Kelly said.

Mayor Jono Naylor said he believed the liquor ban worked well.

Detective Sergeant Tim Moffatt said disorder offending was city-wide.

Liquor bans were designed to deal with areas where there were higher concentrations of people and therefore a higher risk of offending, he said.

Policing of the liquor ban tended to result in less alcohol-related offending, he said.

- © Fairfax NZ News