Call to block drink sales to 18-year-olds

Waitakere City Councilor Linda Cooper. Photo / Richard Robinson

A member of a West Auckland licensing trust wants it to become the first in the country to stop bottle store sales to teenagers.

Linda Cooper said the Waitakere Licensing Trust's monopoly put it in a unique position to voluntarily adopt the Law Commission's suggestion of splitting the purchase age of alcohol.

This would mean refusing to serve people at its off-licence premises until they were 20, but continuing to serve 18-year-olds in its bars and restaurants.

"It's a good compromise," said Ms Cooper, who is also a Waitakere City councillor and the council's youth advocate. "It's not penalising the good 18-year-olds who drink responsibly.

"It's saying, if you are under 20, let's have you in an environment where there are a few controls, people keeping an eye on you.

"It may well cut the ability of under 18-years-olds to pre-load - getting tanked on alcohol from an off-licence and then going to a bar or cruising in cars and hanging out in parks."

Ms Cooper said she would bring up the subject when the licensing trust's board met at the end of the month to discuss suggestions of the review of the Sale of Liquor Act.

Ms Cooper said she could not speak on behalf of the trust, but felt she must speak out as a member of a council which strived for safe communities.

A former trauma surgery nurse at Auckland Hospital, she said: "I've seen the carnage that alcohol brings and it's to 18- to 25-year-olds.

"Any retailer can refuse to serve somebody. We could do it. It's about making a stand about Waitakere as a safe city."

The city's Youth Council is yet to discuss the proposal, but the previous council opposed raising the drinking age limit to 20.

Waitakere Deputy Mayor Penny Hulse supported Ms Cooper's stand, saying there was clearly a link between abuse of alcohol by teens and the crimes they committed.

Ms Hulse said licensing trustees were elected by the community and it would expect Ms Cooper to speak up on issues.

But trust president and fellow city councillor Warren Flaunty said he wished Ms Cooper had taken her "way-off" thoughts to the trust board before going to the press.

"We would not be able to change the sale age anyway. Consider the human rights issue. You'd be put under the spotlight for refusing under-20s."

Mr Flaunty said the West Auckland trusts gave the strongest model for liquor sales in Auckland.

"We have 42 off-licences compared with Manukau City's 300.

"So why would you want to make any further restrictions?"

Senior Sergeant Regan James, of Waitemata, said police had a close relationship with the city council and the trusts in working to reduce alcohol related harm to the community.

In the past 10 years, the Waitakere and Portage Licensing Trusts have donated $50 million to community organisations and causes.

Since West Auckland voted to go from being a dry area to a wet area 35 years ago, the trusts have had the sole right to run pubs and off-licences, except for sports clubs.