Gore District Council
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A1039214 [THIS PAGE HAS BEEN LEFT BLANK INTENTIONALLY] INTRODUCTION Background Alcohol problems can be seen as the result of the social, economic and geographical nature of the community. “Significant alcohol involvement exists in many community level problems, such as alcohol involved traffic crashes (including fatalities and injuries), non-traffic death and trauma (burns, drowning, falls, assaults), while a major percentage of homicide victims have high blood alcohol levels. Each of these can be viewed as products of the community system.” (1) The current New Zealand drinking culture is said (2) to be characterised by the following: (a) New Zealand is a society in which many people are tolerant of drunkenness. (b) It is a society in which many current drinkers appear to exercise little self-control. (c) It is a society in which many adults who currently drink appear not to be concerned about their physical or mental well-being because of their drinking behaviour. (d) It is a society in which many parents do not know about their children’s alcohol drinking habits. Several factors may have contributed to this, including the following: (a) Alcohol is readily available from a range of retail outlets including (outside licensing trust areas) supermarkets. (b) Alcohol is, and is perceived to be, inexpensive when bought retail from an off-licence (for consumption off the premises). (c) Alcohol is vigorously advertised, often associated with attractive role models and popular activities. Information from the Police and the Medical Officer of Health indicates that the problem of alcohol abuse appears to be at least as significant in the Southland region as elsewhere in New Zealand. It is also recognised that many New Zealanders enjoy alcohol in moderation as a social “lubricant” and “relaxant”. A Local Alcohol Policy (LAP) aims to create a meaningful contribution by local authorities to address the society-wide problem that is alcohol abuse. The Gore District, Invercargill City and Southland District Councils have worked together and developed this LAP in recognition of the significant harm that excessive consumption of alcohol continues to have in our communities. In preparing this policy, careful regard has been taken of the views of “stakeholders”. These views were expressed during focus group meetings held over August, September and October 2013. The meeting notes from these stakeholder meetings are available on the Councils’ websites as background to this policy, together with the written submissions from 1 the Medical Officer of Health and the Police. These stakeholders are united in their desire to see a reduction in the excessive and inappropriate use of alcohol and in their wish to improve community safety from alcohol-related harm. Alcohol is a legal drug. Some would have it otherwise, but “prohibition” is not the legislated position in New Zealand. Further, the reasonable use of alcohol in social settings is generally recognised by New Zealand society as being appropriate. It is also recognised that Invercargill City, Gore District and Southland District Councils have vibrant hospitality industries which are an important part of the local social scene and contribute substantially to the local and regional economies. However, as both the Police and Medical Officer of Health submissions indicate, use and abuse of alcohol can be a significant cause of disease, disability and social harm. Its negative impacts include illness, injury, violence, crime, motor vehicle accidents and death. These impacts have an adverse effect on individuals and families, and also come at a significant cost to the community which must provide emergency, healthcare and other services. In developing this Draft LAP, the fact that Invercargill, Gore/Mataura and part of Southland District are Licensing Trust areas has significance. In such areas the retailing of alcohol from off-licences and the operation of taverns is the preserve of community-elected licensing trusts. This has had a very significant and beneficial outcome with respect to some of the matters that other territorial authorities are finding they must address in their LAPs, in particular the “proliferation” of off-licences in those non-trust areas. Because by their nature they have a mandate to serve their communities in a broad sense, and also because they are able to take a broad view with respect to how many off-licences are required, licensing trusts provide a form of control over the total number of off-licensed premises. It is assumed that in Invercargill and Gore/Mataura, licensing trusts will continue to fulfil this function. Should it ever change, the LAPs covering Invercargill, Gore, Mataura and part of Southland would need to be reviewed with utmost urgency. Development of this policy has sought to recognise and build on the large amount of work by all parties, and the goodwill that has contributed to the “Accords” in place throughout Southland prior to the enactment of the Sale and Supply of Alcohol Act 2012 (the Act) and its amendments. Consultation undertaken to date The Gore District Council, Invercargill City Council and Southland District Council agreed early in 2013 to adopt a “shared service” approach to the preparation of a local alcohol policy. It was decided that, while the provisions of the policy may differ between centres, reflecting their different character and needs, the process of consulting the community and assembling the background information should be done jointly. Further, it was decided to formulate a common approach with adjoining territorial authorities in Otago. In essence, this approach was to: Seek relevant information from the Police and Medical Officer of Health. Assemble relevant information including community demographics. 2 Conduct consultation on the basis of “focus groups” from both within the industry and from the wider community, reflecting the diversity of cultures and obligations under the Treaty of Waitangi. Produce an informal report and draft policy (this document) for consideration by the contributing councils. This policy has been developed following consultation with Iwi, alcohol licensing staff, Police, the Medical Officer of Health and staff members from Public Health South, licensees, representatives of the hospitality industry, representatives of national alcohol retailing organisations, and other interested parties. William J Watt Consulting Ltd was engaged to help facilitate this process. The following staff members were involved in the policy development process: Gore District Council: Ms Frances Shepherd. Invercargill City Council: Mr John Youngson, Ms Muriel Rusike and Ms Bernadette Kean. Southland District Council: Mr Michael Sarfaiti and Ms Sarah Wilson. Consultation meetings with focus groups were held as follows: 2 August National stakeholders - Sporting Clubs, Liquorland Ltd, Foodstuffs Ltd, NZ Retailers Association, Hospitality NZ (Invercargill) 28 August Invercargill Youth Council (Invercargill) 29 August Youth and youth agencies (Invercargill) 11 September Invercargill Licensing Trust and Mataura Licensing Trust (Invercargill) 12 September Social Services Agencies (Invercargill) 16 September Licensed premises owners (Invercargill) 16 September Holders of Club Licences (Invercargill) 19 September Holders of Club Licences (Gore) 19 September Community development staff (Gore) 20 September Police (Invercargill) 24 September Iwi (Murihiku Marae, Invercargill) 24 September Pacific Island Advisory and Cultural Trust (Invercargill) 8 October South Alive (Invercargill) 9 October Public Health South (Invercargill) 10 October Glengarry Community Group (Invercargill) 14 October Te Anau - On-licence holders and others (Te Anau) 18 October Southland HANZ and licence holders (Winton) Consultation process from now on The Gore District Council, Invercargill City Council and Southland District Council encourage public input into further development of this Draft Local Alcohol Policy. 3 Submissions are invited by: …………………………………………….. They should be addressed to: …………………………………………….. Once all submissions have been received, a Council Hearing or Hearings will be held to enable those who wish to speak to their submission, to do so. The Councils will then consider submissions and may resolve either not to proceed with a Local Alcohol Policy, or to adopt a policy (with or without modification). There are limited appeal rights to this decision by the Councils. The Purpose of a Local Alcohol Policy A LAP is a set of principles established by a territorial authority in consultation with its community about the sale and supply of alcohol in its district. Once it has been formally adopted a LAP must be considered when licence applications are determined. The policy reflects the intent of the Act, which is to control the sale and supply of alcohol for the benefit of the community as a whole and to minimise harm from excessive or inappropriate consumption of alcohol. A LAP allows the Council to fine-tune the application of the Act through its own activities and those of the Alcohol Regulatory and Licensing Authority, to better meet the needs of individual communities. The policy will help to inform the decisions of the District Licensing Committees (DLC) on alcohol licences for the sale of alcohol in the Southland region, providing a direction as to whether they should be granted, and if so the conditions that should be imposed. The Effect of a Local Alcohol Policy The Act enables territorial authorities to draft, and after consultation,