Support for drinking age to remain 18

Despite some political calls last year for the drinking age to be brought back up to 20, new First Trust House CEO Alan Pollard has said he believes drinking-related problems have decreased significantly in the last 10 years.

Acting Care NZ chief executive Michael Bird adds his belief that young people in particular bear the brunt of unfair criticism and blame for binge-drinking, when in many cases it is much older adults who have more serious problems.

Last Monday, a Wellington High Court judge referred to New Zealand's out-of-control binge drinking culture when he sentenced a former rugby league star to nine years in jail for an alcohol-fuelled attack.

The victim, who went to the aid of a girl he believed was in trouble, was beaten so badly he was unable to remember his family's names.

The 22-year-old perpetrator said he "blacked out" and had no recollection of the incident.

Justice Forrest Miller said New Zealand's "appalling" rate of traumatic brain injury cases was linked to alcohol abuse and he said more needed to be done to licensing laws that allowed people to pre-load on cheap alcohol before heading to bars.

Mr Pollard, whose trust runs a variety of businesses including supermarkets, liquor outlets and hotels, said he believed pre-loading, the practice of drinking large amounts before going to licensed premises, was not a new phenomenon.

"I can honestly say that [it was happening] 30 years ago. I think that pre-loading is not a new thing, it's been going on for years and years."

The Masterton-based CEO said if anything, in his opinion, the problems associated with binge-drinking have improved in recent years and he said he wouldn't be in favour of increasing the drinking age. "We have a lot less trouble in the business than even say 10 years ago."

Mr Pollard said that he believed that the social scene has not changed that dramatically since he was 18 and experimenting with alcohol at that age was a "whole social thing".

"I don't think age is particularly important. It's how people sell their product and how responsible they are when they sell it that's important," he said.

Mr Bird agreed with Mr Pollard that increasing the drinking age would not result in a noticeable decrease in binge-drinking, pre-loading or alcohol related offences. "I think in our society we are happy to lay the blame on young people when the blame should be broadly attributed to a much larger section of New Zealand society."

Mr Bird said a recent survey which Care NZ carried out in which hundreds of people were questioned reflected that fact. "More than 50 per cent of 50 year olds we spoke to said that they thought drunkenness was OK. The problem is endemic across all of New Zealand."