Most police want drinking age raised: Survey

Nearly three quarters of police officers want the drinking age raised to 20 .

A Police Association survey conducted in November last year and published today found 72 per cent of working officers supported lifting the age.

The survey did not examine the reasons behind why raising the age was favoured.

In January, Justice Minister Simon Power said raising the legal drinking age from 18 to 20 was likely to be back on the Government's agenda this year.

The age was cut from 21 to 20 in 1967 and lowered again to 18 in 1999.

In 2006, Parliament voted 72-49 against a private member's bill by former Hamilton West MP Martin Gallagher to raise the age back to 20.

Mr Power said he voted against the bill in 2006 because he believed the drinking age should not be dealt with in isolation.

"I sat on the select committee that heard submissions, and two things struck me," he said.

"First, when the police came before that committee they said that in 51 per cent of cases (of under-age drinking) the last drink had been taken at home. That has stuck in my mind.

"Second, one has the issue of the proliferation of liquor licences and the hours they operate. I think that to deal with the drinking age in isolation from those would have us going round in circles."

- NZPA