'Inevitable carnage' at Rugby World Cup, MPs told

Piha Domain Camp host, Fiona Anderson. Photo / Dean Purcell

The Rugby World Cup will showcase New Zealand tourism to the world but there will be "inevitable carnage", a select committee has heard.

Fiona Anderson of the Piha Domain camping ground has told MPs at the Rugby World Cup 2011 (Empowering Bill) select committee hearing in Auckland of her fears that temporary liquor licences and temporary facilities would see an increase in drunkenness and would place already stretched emergency services under more strain.

The Bill sets up a new Authority, provides for urgent consents, and establishes a liquor licensing scheme in time for next year's tournament that will see up to 80,000 international visitors.

Ms Anderson said the World Cup was a "wonderful opportunity for tourism" but the country could set an example for other communities that showed "this all night drinking business is not ok."

"But it's unlikely to happen," she added.

National MP Jackie Dean asked her if she thought the issue was more to do with how Kiwis were drinking and the country's "drinking culture", or if the law needed changing.

"I think it's 50/50. I think we have a terrible drinking culture but we have laws that allow it."

She told the committee during the Lions tour in 2005 her camping ground saw a number of people who didn't want to be associated with official tour grounds because they said they weren't good places for children.