Drink review angers firms

Photo / Bay of Plenty Times

Liquor barons are against recommendations to reduce the number of beers fans can buy at rugby games, just over a week after NZ Cricket's top man hit out at Kiwi drunkenness at sports events.

Spectators are generally limited to buying four beers at a time at rugby matches, and two at cricket.

The Alcohol Liquor Advisory Council (Alac) is updating its guidelines for the management of alcohol at large-scale public events set in 2008. It then said only two beers should be able to be bought at sports events, including rugby, even though liquor licences allow for four.

Next year's Rugby World Cup is exempt from the potential new guidelines.

But brewery giants Lion Nathan and DB are against Alac's plan, and the Distilled Spirits Association is concerned there is no provision for RTDs [ready-to-drinks] to be sold at matches.

The opposition comes as NZ Cricket chief executive Justin Vaughan went public about ugly scenes with drunken All Blacks fans at the Bledisloe Cup test in Melbourne.

Documents released to the Herald on Sunday under the Official Information Act show the breweries fear potential changes and say reducing the number of drinks fans can buy would be impractical.

They also believe they were not consulted before the recommendations were made.

Lion Nathan spokesman Neil Hinton said the brewing giant had to approach Alac and ask if it could provide some feedback.

"It was not widely consulted on at all. In my view these guidelines were not widely circulated, they hadn't gone to some of the critical people," Hinton said.

DB corporate affairs manager Mark Campbell said it only found out about Alac's review after it was produced.

Distilled Spirits Association chief executive Thomas Chin said he also wrote to Alac when he discovered their guidelines were under review.

Chin said he became concerned that RTDs were being excluded from the guidelines.

"There were words that said no RTDs but there was no explanation as to why."

Alac is set to release its new guidelines soon.

However, the rules around what can and can't be served at the World Cup are to be released by Rugby World Cup 2011 Limited next month.

Alac's spokesman Andrew

Galloway dismissed the alcohol barons' claim of poor consultation.

Alac's 2008 guidelines are being reviewed by consultant Mark Lyne, who declined to comment.

Lines of fury

Rugby fans Scott Kellner and Matt Magor are regulars at Eden Park and say the queues for food and alcohol are "ridiculous".

Kellner, 34, says he has to miss part of the game if he wants to get a drink or something to eat.

Kellner says stadiums should consider adopting the American system where staff walk around the stands selling food and drink to fans.

Magor says they try to arrive earlier to get food and drinks before the game but there is invariably a queue.

Despite Alac's plan to reduce beers to two at a time, Magor and Kellner want the status quo of four drinks to stay.

Canterbury Rugby Supporters Club president Dick Tayler says the cure to queues is to ban eftpos and make everyone pay cash.

Tayler says the cash-only system works well in stadiums in Australia.