ACC cuts police booze bus funding

File photo / Bay of Plenty Times

A cut in funding by the Accident Compensation Corporation has meant the police booze bus based in Whangarei will no longer travel to one of the country's worst drink-driving hot spots.

Kaitaia, which had New Zealand's highest rate of recidivist drink-drivers, would no longer be serviced by the police bus, the Northern Advocate reported.

Northland district commander Inspector Chris Scahill told a recent Far North District Council meeting the booze bus and specialist Traffic Alcohol Group were no longer being deployed in Kaitaia.

The ACC had helped pay for the deployments but had cut funding, he said.

Drink-drive policing would continue in Kaitaia but would be less visible without the bus, and three-night blitzes would be harder to carry out.

Police were making inroads into the Far North's drink-driving culture, but too many people were still dying or being badly injured, Mr Scahill said.

An ACC spokeswoman said it gave the police bulk funding to support drink-driving programmes, and enforcement priorities and regional deployment of the booze bus were police decisions.

- NZPA