Great idea! Push all the drunk people out on to the street where they can vandalise things! Shut up and do your job Mr Policeman.

Their are many other ways to have a social life.....church is not one of my options but one is not a loser for going to church. We live in a beautiful country with many adventures to be had. Alcohol is just one option. And usually (losers) drink too much...because a loser would be defined as wasting precious time in such a short life on being intoxicated and more than offen hurting those around them from there drinking behaviour.And another point from you tiny post is this issue does affect everyone. Do you actually know how many people are in prison through theiur drinking behaviour, do you know how many parents are unable to spend time with their kids because of their need to drink, Do you understand that Alcohol is a drug than runs like acid through relationships and familys, destroying the innocent and converting future drinkers through the pain they cause... think more deeply about this issue, i am not saying i have any solutions but i am saying that if you want to call someone a loser you should look only in the mirror, as those who point the finger are usually the culprits...

I am a shift worker, and often I don't finish work till 06:00. It would be nice if I could go and have a drink after work. I think that the onus should be on the publican, if there are really drunk people on site then they should have there license suspended. Also start to fine / jail people for being violent. Not everyone that drinks is a problem drinker, just like not everyone that drives; drives drunk; we don't punish all drivers for a few drunk drivers. The problem with society is that people don't take personal responsibility serious any longer. Stop pussy footing around and push the responsibility back onto the owners.

The price of alcohol in bars is far too expensive which is why people drink to excess at home before going out. If the government was to give relax its tax on alcohol making it more affordable to drink in bars consumers would go out earlier in the night rather than drinking at home to excess. In addition to this the government should also introduce a responsible service of alcohol (RSA) course like in New South Wales in Australia to educated bar staff. Encouraging people to drink out in a controlled, safe environment, where bar staff cut of people who are too drunk is the way forward. Drinkers who have had too much to drink generally do not return home to continue drinking. This can only happen tho if the police are serious about policing the bars and coming down hard on bar owners and staff who serve drunks. Bars should be allowed to stay open to what ever time they feel is right. Consumers will slowly filter out on the street in their own time, making taxis/buses services home easier to obtain rather than having the same people stranded on the street.

This is a win win solution, business for bar owners increases, consumers get better value for money, and there are less drunks on the street.

I would find it pretty ridiculous that as a working, largely responsible, tax-paying adult I was then told that i had to go home at 1 or even 3am every Saturday night. 99% of people that go out in the weekends go out for a good time and dont cause any undue problems. If one percent of voters cast joke votes in a general election is that to say we should more to a one party totalitarian government?

Raising the drinking age is also not the solution. For one thing how can a government say to someone, you are old enough to vote and thus dictate the future direction of our country, or go to war and potential be killed, but you arent allowed to have a drink. Ridiculous.

I do feel somewhat for the police, but on an average night out it would be unusual to see more that two or three scuffles, most of which tend to burn out of their own accord pretty quickly anyway. And besides, I have elements of my job I dont especially enjoy either.

What amuses me is that most of the naysayers and tut-tutters are never out at 4am on a Saturday night anyway. They just read media reports about a fight in the city or some comatose 14 year old kid getting taken home by police and think NZ is going to hell in a hand basket and demand that things change. Of course, anyone with an ounce of common sense knows raising the drinking age is not going to stop the either occurrence. And I suspect a sociologist would tell you that NZs binge drinking culture (which is made out to be frightful, but frankly in my travels I have to say is no worse than alot of places in the world, and certainly much better than the UK or US) actually comes from the days of six o'clock closing, so I dont think going back as it were is the answer at all.

They introduced a 3am lockout law in Melbourne last year which lasted three months and guess what ... it didnt fix a thing, yet cost the economy several hundred thousand dollars in lost revenue.

For all the losers with no social life:

Please don't try and ruin everyone elses nights by getting involved with something that doesn't even affect you. I'm happy to be out until 6am on a sunday morning with the mother of all hangovers. It beats church, thats for sure

I wonder how many 19-year-olds would agree with raising the drinking age to 20? The drinking age is 18 - it is going to stay at that age. There is no point in even suggesting that it is raised.

Putting in new rules doesn't fix anything. Until people's attitudes change then the problem won't go away. Sometimes I am in town until the early hours but I'm not drunk. Does this mean my right to go out and enjoy myself on the weekend is going to be taken away because some people don't know when to stop drinking?

New Zealanders need to learn responsible drinking. Simple as that. Knee jerk reactions to problems create more problems. I'm sure the past has shown us that much.

Phoebix #53 As many of the above posts have stated, one of the main problems we do have are with those who have been drinking before coming into town. Many patrons don't realise it is illegal for bars to allow intoxicated people to be on premise. I think a lot more publicity needs to put out there so that people are aware that this is the case. Too much responsibilty is put onto bartenders/managers/ and publicans; we serve alcohol in a controlled and responsible manner. Why doesn't the law start prosecuting those who are drunk? People need to start taking responsibility for their own actions. I don't agree with a blanket closing time. I manage a bar that closes at 7am and my main problems are with those who we don't allow on our premises and those who have been drinking in the streets or at home beforehand.