It will be interesting to see if the closing of off-licences at 9pm, as opposed to 10pm, will make a major impact on the "social harm" of alcohol.
This is probably the most significant detail in the joint Wairarapa councils' Local Alcohol Policy, which will effectively set the rules and guidelines for licensed alcohol sales.
What liquor organisations will frequently say is the "it's not what we're drinking, it's how we're drinking" line - in fact, that was quoted back at me from Liquor King when I was pursuing yesterday's lead story on the 9pm closing.
It's a fair comment. In the same sense that newspapers do not create bad news - we report it - liquor stores are purveyors of alcohol, not creators of the problems caused by those who are intoxicated. Liquor stores will argue that alcohol consumption is a matter of personal responsibility and education within the community and family. Liquor stores do not sell to intoxicated people, and try extremely hard not to sell to under-age customers. But it's not perfect; mistakes do happen.
There is also the issue of a business entitled to make a profit from a product that is legal. I can recall a Porirua liquor store who used to stay open until midnight. Mired by bad publicity (it was near a school), it soon fell foul of the licensing authority and had its hours cut. It didn't survive.
