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A permanent liquor ban on Whangarei beaches came into effect yesterday.
District councillors approved amendments to the liquor bylaw last week so that the ban could come into force before Christmas.
The bylaw was tried in the district for a year from November 1, 2007.
A proposal to permanently ban alcohol from Whangarei beaches at all times attracted just one objection.
Submitter Donald Bredenbeck, of Ngunguru, said the bylaw was not needed because police already had powers to deal with troublemakers on beaches.
He said a government-initiated referendum was needed before such a bylaw should be passed.
"The ban has largely been ignored by a large number of responsible people and the police have not been proactive in policing the ban," Mr Bredenbeck said in his submission.
It would deprive residents and tourists who stopped for a meal on the coast of a chance to have a drink.
The bylaw will apply to all public places from the high water mark up to 300m inland along the district's entire coastline, with the exception of areas controlled by the Department of Conservation, where alcohol is banned already.
The DoC ban came in after New Year's Eve 2006 when more than 2000 teenagers, many of them drunk, tried to enter Uretiti campground, south of Ruakaka.
But even once the bylaw comes into force, police say, they will use their discretion when people are having a few quiet drinks on the beach.
Permission to drink on the beach on special occasions, such as weddings, can be granted by the council's chief executive.
The bylaw covers all beaches, including Ruakaka, Uretiti, Waipu Cove/Langs Beach, Oakura, Whananaki, Pataua North and South and Matapouri.
- NOTHERN ADVOCATE
