Residents and police welcome liquor plan

Residents, the police and the Alcohol Advisory Council are welcoming Auckland City Council's planned liquor law changes that include earlier closing times and incentives for well-behaved bars and restaurants.

Inspector Andrew Coster said liquor was a leading cause of violence and disorder in the city and the police supported any attempt to reduce alcohol-related harm.

He said communities were fed up with problems from excessive and poorly managed liquor consumption and the council's strategy was an attempt to balance the needs of communities with a desire to maintain entertainment precincts. It also rewarded good behaviour by bar and restaurant owners with longer opening hours.

Publicans in suburban Auckland have reacted angrily to being forced to close at 11pm, or midnight with an extended licence. Bars and restaurants in central Auckland and entertainment precincts such as Ponsonby Rd and Parnell Rd also face tough new conditions, such as having security guards late at night and providing free food to people buying liquor after 3am if they operate a 24-hour licence.

Restaurant Association chief executive Alistair Rowe said the "silly" changes meant new restaurants and bars would have to close up to two hours earlier in their first year than established businesses.

Mr Rowe said the "learner licence" smacked of nanny state and would stop even established operators opening new businesses.

Alcohol Advisory Council chief executive Gerard Vaughan supported cutting hours in the central city from 24 hours to 1am for the first year with the ability to apply for a 3am or 24-hour licence after that. Longer hours led to greater availability of alcohol and that was linked to public disorder, he said.

Mr Vaughan said an Auckland City police report found that central Auckland had a higher proportion of recorded violence between 11pm and 5am than the rest of the country.

An Upland Rd resident, who did not want to be named, said restaurants in Remuera Rd generally closed by 10pm, but he encountered a lot of problems with The Villager restaurant and bar staying open to 1am.

Noise was the biggest issue, he said, with bottles being dumped into bins at all hours of the night, blocked driveways, patrons urinating and vomiting, shouting and foul language.

Grey Lynn resident Gordon Hill said he was all for an 11pm closing time in the suburbs. Neighbours have had an ongoing battle with the Grey Lynn Tavern in Surrey Cres. Mr Hill said the problems had improved, but it attracted people from outside the area and was not a neighbourhood bar.

Aaron Bhatnagar, the councillor steering the changes through the council, yesterday reiterated that the council was listening and nothing was set in stone. Public submissions on the liquor law changes close on October 7.