Southland liquor outlets have been given the green light to continue trading up to 16 hours a day, despite Health NZ calling for shorter hours.
By Matthew Rosenberg for Local Democracy Reporting
On Wednesday, district councillors voted almost unanimously to stick with the status quo for off-licence operating hours, meaning bottle stores and supermarkets can continue to sell liquor between 7am and 11pm daily.
The decision went against a staff recommendation to shave off three hours a day, and an even tougher stance from Health NZ to cut back four hours.
Arguments in support of sticking with the status quo included councillor Matt Wilson saying he had not seen data to support change and consultation was split down the middle.
Councillor Paul Duffy said he had not seen a need to sell alcohol as early as 7am but recently approved a special licence for the Garston dog trials, and it might suit them to buy alcohol before 9am.
Philip Dobson was the lone voice in support of reducing daily trading hours
“Just in review of listening to everyone here, a lot of it seems to come back to inconvenience, and I just wonder where inconvenience fits with our responsibilities around harm reduction,” the councillor said.
“I’m hearing about guys that need to pick up their booze on the way to the dog trials, when you’ve got a chill trailer, and I’m sure there’s a fridge in Garston. I’m sure there’s at least one of them.”
Wednesday’s decision followed a public consultation late last year, and presentations from Hospitality New Zealand and Health NZ Te Whatu Ora.
In January, Health NZ medical officer of health Michael Butchard told council alcohol caused 900 deaths, 1250 cancer diagnoses and 30,000 hospitalisations every year in New Zealand.
The burden of alcohol was large, and justified a local alcohol policy which did more rather than less, he said.
Health NZ recommended trading hours of 9am to 9pm, or four hours less a day.
Although the council opted to keep trading hours the same, it did okay some changes.
That included removing “no restrictions” wording from on-licence trading hours, considering glass vessels at events, and new owners not needing to consult with neighbouring properties.
It also reduced the timeframe for review to four years and added health centres, rehabilitation centres, Marae, and Fale Pasifika as sensitive places.
The final policy is yet to be adopted by the council, which will take place following public notification.
In 2024, Auckland brought forward off-licence closure times to 9pm, while Christchurch followed suit last year.
- LDR is local body journalism co-funded by RNZ and NZ On Air.
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