The council aims to reduce opening hours for off-licences but councillor Rob Vinsen is expecting pushback from supermarkets. Photo / 123rf
The council aims to reduce opening hours for off-licences but councillor Rob Vinsen is expecting pushback from supermarkets. Photo / 123rf
Removing the cap on the number of off-licences is one of several proposals in the Whanganui District Council’s new alcohol policy.
At present, the district has a cap of 14 but that could be replaced by a series of new measurements - a “risk matrix”.
Whanganui District Council policy adviser Hannah Rodgers said the cap had been criticised because there were more than 14 off-licences and it “was not enough of a nuanced tool”.
The existing policy was signed off in 2019 - but by 2023 there were 17 off-licences in the district.
According to the Sale and Supply of Alcohol Act, a licensing committee must regard a relevant local alcohol policy when deciding whether to issue a licence but it is not required to follow it.
Under the council’s new proposal, a “consideration of deprivation” rating would be added to all applications on top of existing regulations, Rodgers said.
“Alcohol-related harm is significantly higher in highly deprived areas and Whanganui is particularly vulnerable to that,” she said.
A venue wanting to open in an area of deprivation 9 or 10 would have its risk rating increased by five points, with a new venue in an area of deprivation 7 or 8 having an increase of three points.
Venues in an area of deprivation 6 or lower would not have their risk rating increased.
According to the council’s 2023 district snapshot, 10.4% of Whanganui’s population was considered low deprivation, with 27.1% at medium deprivation and 62.5% at high deprivation.
Other factors to be considered for risk include clustering (several licences in one area), proximity to sensitive sites such as schools and early childhood centres, and which zone (residential, commercial or industrial) the licence will operate in.
Councillor Philippa Baker-Hogan said the council needed to be a leader when it came to reducing alcohol harm.
“When we talk about our [Whanganui District] Health Board territory, we are one of the most deprived regions in the country, with Gisborne and Northland,” she said.
“We need to prove we have done our work and that this work is for our community.”
She said alcohol remained “in front of people” across the country and while it was important to have a vibrant community, children needed to be kept safe.
The council intends to keep the cap for bottle stores in the district at 10.
A report from Rodgers said high-risk applications (16 points and over) would not be granted a licence and medium risk venues (6 to 15) “should be managed by discretionary conditions”.
Councillor Philippa Baker-Hogan says the council needs to be a leader when it comes to reducing alcohol harm. Photo / NZME
Another proposed change would mean premises could not sell alcohol earlier than 9am - after school has begun - and not after 9pm for off-licences.
Currently, 44% of off-licences can sell from 7am and 43% of on-licences can sell from 8am.
Eighty per cent of the 424 respondents to a recent council survey said they mostly consumed alcohol at home.
Councillor Charlotte Melser said she had witnessed people leaving parties at 9.45pm and going to the supermarket to stock up for the rest of the night.
Drinking alcohol at home often included “boisterous parties and underage drinkers,” she said.
“I absolutely support the opening hours being pulled back to 9pm.”
Councillor Rob Vinsen said he expected pushback from supermarkets regarding opening hours - “they did it in the past when we tried to push it to 9.30pm” - and, in his opinion, there was no need for a local alcohol policy at all.
“It gives us the ability to have different rules than neighbouring areas,” he said.
“They could have a different rule in Marton or Palmerston North, and they probably do.
“The Government should set the rules for alcohol and that’s it.”
Rodgers said the Whanganui Police had requested venues implement a one-way door restriction (people can leave but not enter) from midnight regardless of closing time and that was included in the proposal.
Under the current policy, an on-licence must start the restriction one hour before closing if it is open after midnight.
Councillor Josh Chandulal-Mackay said he did not support blanket policies for the country and other districts may not have issues such as people spilling on the street after leaving a venue.
“Because we do have a problem according to police, it’s important that we are able to respond to that,” he said.
Mayor Andrew Tripe said there was a cultural issue in New Zealand around attitudes to alcohol, drugs and gambling.
“We can only do so much as a community to address the effect of those big three,” he said.
“I would call upon our central government policy makers and legislators to do a whole lot more in this space.”
Submissions on the proposed policy are open for six weeks from Monday, February 24.
Mike Tweed is a multimedia journalist at the Whanganui Chronicle. Since starting in March 2020, he has dabbled in everything from sport to music. At present his focus is local government, primarily the Whanganui District Council.
