KEY POINTS:
The debate over whether central Auckland bars should close at 3am is far from over _ despite the mayor saying his international city "won't be shut down".
Police this week asked Auckland City councillors to consider abolishing 24-hour liquor licensing to reduce violent crime in the central city.
Mayor John Banks immediately quashed the idea, saying any such move would threaten efforts to earn the city a reputation for First World hospitality.
He added that plans to "shut the city down" were not going to happen because Auckland was an "international city".
His comments yesterday drew criticism from people who questioned how drunk youths vomiting on the streets boosted Auckland's image as an "international city".
Auckland Regional Council chairman Mike Lee said he did not want Auckland to be an international city that had drunkenness and violence in the early hours of the morning.
"The fact of the matter is the public are worried and concerned about crime, especially violent crime, and the police have suggested a way to control it by cutting off or reducing drinking hours. You have to support that."
Mr Lee said 24-hour licences could be granted for events such as the 2011 Rugby World Cup and festivals.
North Shore Mayor Andrew Williams said drunken youths, violence and lawlessness were not his idea of a world-class city.
"I do not agree with Mayor Banks that it is desirable to have 24-hour licensing of bars and that in some way this supposedly makes for a `world-class city'.
"North Shore, the fourth largest city in New Zealand... sets much higher standards than this."
North Shore _ where bars close by 3am at the latest _ had the lowest crime rate of all the major cities in NZ. Auckland had the highest.
Mr Williams said 24-hour licensing raised real concerns for North Shore residents when they were confronted with suggestions for a super-city, being considered by the Royal Commission on Auckland Governance.
"We do not want a `bar' of the standards being set by Auckland City in relation to all-night unruliness. People being intoxicated, fighting, vomiting and urinating on our streets in the wee hours near dawn are not world class in anyone's book."
Senior Sergeant Ben Offner of the Downtown police, who is behind the push for reduced licensing hours, said Auckland did not have to sell alcohol 24 hours a day to be an "international city".
Many other major cities around the world were reducing their trading hours, including New York _ "the city that never sleeps" _ where 2am licences are expected to replace 4am closings within the next few years.
