Alcohol retailers fight Rotorua’s proposed freeze on new liquor off-licences

Prominent alcohol retailers have voiced opposition to a proposed freeze on new off-licences opening in Rotorua.

A medical officer of health has backed the freeze, saying alcohol-related harm in the city has worsened since the Covid pandemic to rates above the national average.

Rotorua Lakes Council’s draft local alcohol policy proposed the freeze would last three years and apply to applications for off-licences - bottle stores, supermarkets, and grocery stores.

After that, new applications would be presumed to be refused, but this could be rebutted.

Alcohol retailers are among those who made submissions during a Rotorua alcohol policy hearing. Photo / 123rf

Councillors heard public submissions on the draft policy last week.

Other changes proposed included requiring any new off-licences within 200m of a wider range of sensitive facilities to conduct pre-application engagement.

Sensitive facilities include places of worship, residential activity, youth centres, rehabilitation treatment centres, community hubs, educational places, hospitals, marae or urupā.

Reducing operating hours was also proposed. Off-licences would be able to open from 7am to 9pm, while inner-city on-licence venues – bars, restaurants and other hospitality outlets – could open from 8am to 2am.

The policy aimed to reduce alcohol harm in the community and was developed with consideration of data about economic benefits and harm linked to alcohol sales.

Bottle store franchiser Super Liquor Holdings Limited national operations manager Greg Hoar said the business did not agree to the blanket no new off-licences approach, for reasons including the expected growth in the city.

“We don’t know what the future holds.”

Every application should be judged on its own merit, he said.

He argued conditions imposed on off-licences should not single out bottle stores.

For instance, if supermarkets were allowed to operate longer than bottle stores, consumers would change their behaviour to the detriment of “good business owners”.

Foodstuffs North Island Limited lawyer Iain Thain said the proposed freeze could have “unintended adverse consequences”.

He said it could disincentivise investment in new stores in the area.

Supermarkets needed to have an off-licence “to provide the full range customers want”.

Supermarkets needed to have an off-licence to meet customer demand, Foodstuffs says. Photo / 123rf

Foodstuffs, which owns the New World, Pak’nSave, Four Square, Gilmours and Liquorland brands, also wanted the district licensing committee to deal with applications on their own merits, without a “blanket prohibition on new stores”.

The policy would continue to not grant new off-licences outside the inner city and within 200m of an education facility or marae, unless the council or licensing committee approved it.

Foodstuffs wanted this distance lowered to 50m for grocery stores and supermarkets.

Woolworths New Zealand also opposed a freeze because the supermarket owner did not believe the council had evidence it would reduce alcohol-related harm.

Among other points in its submission was that sensitive facilities were already considered under the Sale and Supply of Alcohol Act when the amenity and good order of a locality was assessed.

Woolworths believed pre-application engagement went beyond what a local alcohol policy (LAP) could require.

Health New Zealand medical officer for health Dr Lynne Lane highlighted parts of its submission.

“My message is simple. We are really concerned that the current LAP is not delivering on the objectives of the act to minimise harm.”

She said the draft may not either unless strengthened.

Her submission included Rotorua’s make-up of youth, Māori, and growing areas of deprivation – populations at more risk of alcohol-related harm.

Pre-Covid, Rotorua had rates of alcohol-related harm below the national average, but now it was above.

“Things are going seriously wrong.”

Health harms included fetal alcohol spectrum disorder.

Lane also highlighted the record community opposition to a recent off-licence application.

She supported the freeze and recommended doubling the 200m exclusion distance for new off-licences near marae and education facilities.

“There’s really good evidence this would make a big difference in terms of the socialisation of harmful drinking amongst children.”

Alcohol Healthwatch executive director Andrew Galloway submitted the council should adopt the precautionary approach to minimise alcohol harm and reflect the community’s preferences.

He said the proposed freeze was good and recommended the council further it by making it permanent or a sinking-lid approach in areas of high deprivation.

Galloway said the organisation would like to see the sensitive-sites conditions applied to other licence types.

Other submitters included Karen Hunt, who said the proposed freeze indicated the council was aware of the impacts of alcohol-related harm and that the city was “well-served” with off-licenced premises.

Councillors will make a final decision on April 30.

Laura Smith is a Local Democracy Reporting journalist based at the Rotorua Daily Post. She previously reported general news for the Otago Daily Times and Southland Express, and has been a journalist since 2019.

- LDR is local body journalism co-funded by RNZ and NZ On Air.