Liquor law changes to focus on young

The Government's approach to liquor law reform will zero in on the harm caused to young people, Justice Minister Simon Power says.

Giving a glimpse of the way he is dealing with the response to the recent Law Commission report on liquor laws, he said today he knew the public expected changes.

"The key for the Government is to get a legislative response together which zeroes in on where the harm is actually occurring and not to the detriment of those New Zealanders who are drinking in moderation," he said.

"I mean particularly young people, and one of the key areas in dealing with that issue is the availability of liquor."

Mr Power said that since 1990 the number of off-license outlets had doubled to about 4300.

"My view is that licenses need to be harder to get and easier to lose," he said on TV One's Q&A programme.

Mr Power said he believed the Government had a mandate to deal with harm to young people and the availability of liquor.

He thought Parliament would "one way or another" consider the purchase age and for the National Party it would be a conscience vote.

Mr Power said he would vote for it to stay at 18 and indicated other changes would be government policy.

"The trick for us is...to make sure that conscience votes don't disrupt the integrity of that legislative response and we don't end up with a mishmash like we've seen in the current law," he said.

Marketing was another issue he was "looking very seriously at" and considering whether anything should be done about advertising and products aimed at under 20-year-olds.

He said he would consider reducing the hours in which liquor could be sold, either on or off-license.

"There is actually quite a bit of work to be done around the licensing hours issue, which I think realistically is likely to form a cornerstone of any legislative change," he said.

A group of prominent New Zealanders, led by former governor-general Sir Paul Reeves, came to Parliament last week to urge MPs to develop a strong response to the Law Commission report and adopt its recommendations for raising the purchase age, increasing the price, reducing availability and lowering the blood alcohol limit for drivers.

Mr Power said he hadn't been surprised.

"I do think there has been a watershed in public opinion in recent times, and there is an expectation that the Government will move in this area," he said.

"I accept that."

- NZPA