Tougher alcohol laws for Auckland, including banning sales in supermarkets and liquor stores after 9pm, could be in place by December.

The council designed Local Alcohol Policy is aiming to reduce alcohol harm, and will come up for a council vote at the end of the month.

The policy would also see a two-year ban on new bottle stores in the central city and 23 other areas, unless they meet a very high threshold.

Sports Clubs and RSAs would also have stop selling alcohol after 1am, while bars and other on-licenses would have to stop at 4am in the CBD and 3am everywhere else.

Lawyer and Secretary of Communities Against Alcohol Harm, Dr Grant Hewison told Francesca Rudkin they welcome these changes.

He says Auckland, particularly the City Centre faces significant issues around alcohol related harm. 

LISTEN ABOVE

Tougher alcohol laws for Auckland, including banning sales in supermarkets and liquor stores after 9pm, could be in place by December. 
The council designed Local Alcohol Policy is aiming to reduce alcohol harm, and will come up for a council vote at the end of the month. 
The policy would also see a two-year ban on new bottle stores in the central city and 23 other areas, unless they meet a very high threshold. 
Sports Clubs and RSAs would also have stop selling alcohol after 1am, while bars and other on-licenses would have to stop at 4am in the CBD and 3am everywhere else. 
Lawyer and Secretary of Communities Against Alcohol Harm, Dr Grant Hewison told Francesca Rudkin they welcome these changes. 
He says Auckland, particularly the City Centre faces significant issues around alcohol related harm.  
LISTEN ABOVE

Join Kerre Woodham one of New Zealand’s best loved personalities as she dishes up a bold, sharp and energetic show Monday to Friday 9am-12md on Newstalk ZB. News, opinion, analysis, lifestyle and entertainment – we’ve got your morning listening covered.

Kerre Woodham Mornings Podcast

Dr Grant Hewison: Lawyer and Secretary of Communities Against Alcohol Harm, on changes to alcohol sales in Auckland

We spend a lot of time talking about alcohol harm, and yet we tend to do very little about it. Therefore, it is good to see Auckland Council has stuck to its guns and persisted in what they believe is a game changer for some communities.  

After an 8-year court battle with supermarkets, Auckland Council looks set to place a ban on selling booze after 9pm in supermarkets and bottle stores in Auckland by December. Also on the cards is a two-year freeze on new liquor stores in the central city and 23 other areas with high alcohol-related harm and crime.

At the end of the day, how you drink is up to the individual. It is your health and your responsibility. But as a society, we all pay the price. Alcohol impacts our health and our mental wellbeing. It’s a factor in family violence, and crime, and creates unsafe communities and roads.  It adds to the workload of police, and emergency departments. We know the benefits to reducing alcohol harm.  

So good on the Auckland Council for taking some responsibility. The aim of this Local Alcohol Policy (LAP) is to minimize alcohol-related harm in communities while balancing fair and reasonable requirements for businesses. So, you can still buy your alcohol, you might have to be a bit better organised, but if it is making it less available in communities that are seeing the brunt of the harm, then I say let’s give it a go.

Do we really need more than 100 liquor stores in South Auckland?  There are about 18 in the Māngere-Ōtāhuhu Local Board area, 18 in Manurewa, 29 in Ōtara-Papatoetoe, and 40 in Maungakiekie-Tāmaki. Sounds like enough to me. Gosh don’t you wish we’d been more proactive around vape stores? ...

Those working in this space are calling it a game-changer. Dr Grant Hewison, a lawyer who works on alcohol issues with two community groups in South Auckland, said the policy would lead to significant improvements in alcohol-related harm.

He believes that shifting the closing time regarding the sale of alcohol at supermarkets and liquor stores from 11 pm to 9pm will prevent pre-loading with cheaper alcohol outside licensed premises.  

Manurewa- Papakura ward councilor Angela Dalton said on Breakfast TV this morning “easy access to alcohol is not helping our people who are really in distress from addiction and that goes across any age, any culture, it’s nondiscriminatory but it's certainly impacting our kids.  

She went on to say the area has a young population, and children are walking past liquor outlets daily. She believes it’s subliminal messaging and they might be going home to places that are fueled by alcohol. She believes if we can calm that, this is going to be better off for everyone.  



The new rules mean:

Supermarkets and bottle stores cannot sell alcohol after 9pm (the cut-off is 11pm now).

Bars, restaurants and other on-licences cannot sell alcohol later than 4am in the central city and 3am elsewhere.

Applications for new bottle stores in the central city and 23 other areas will be rejected for two years unless they meet a very high threshold.

Sports clubs and RSAs can sell alcohol no later than 1am.

No change for liquor licences for festivals and events. They will continue to be assessed by the district licencing committee.

I can work around this – it doesn’t need to be an issue for me – but if it helps other people and other communities, I am happy to deal with a small inconvenience of fewer sales hours.  You?  

We spend a lot of time talking about alcohol harm, and yet we tend to do very little about it. Therefore, it is good to see Auckland Council has stuck to its guns and persisted in what they believe is a game changer for some communities.   
After an 8-year court battle with supermarkets, Auckland Council looks set to place a ban on selling booze after 9pm in supermarkets and bottle stores in Auckland by December. Also on the cards is a two-year freeze on new liquor stores in the central city and 23 other areas with high alcohol-related harm and crime. 
At the end of the day, how you drink is up to the individual. It is your health and your responsibility. But as a society, we all pay the price. Alcohol impacts our health and our mental wellbeing. It’s a factor in family violence, and crime, and creates unsafe communities and roads.  It adds to the workload of police, and emergency departments. We know the benefits to reducing alcohol harm.   
So good on the Auckland Council for taking some responsibility. The aim of this Local Alcohol Policy (LAP) is to minimize alcohol-related harm in communities while balancing fair and reasonable requirements for businesses. So, you can still buy your alcohol, you might have to be a bit better organised, but if it is making it less available in communities that are seeing the brunt of the harm, then I say let’s give it a go. 
Do we really need more than 100 liquor stores in South Auckland?  There are about 18 in the Māngere-Ōtāhuhu Local Board area, 18 in Manurewa, 29 in Ōtara-Papatoetoe, and 40 in Maungakiekie-Tāmaki. Sounds like enough to me. Gosh don’t you wish we’d been more proactive around vape stores? ... 
Those working in this space are calling it a game-changer. Dr Grant Hewison, a lawyer who works on alcohol issues with two community groups in South Auckland, said the policy would lead to significant improvements in alcohol-related harm. 
He believes that shifting the closing time regarding the sale of alcohol at supermarkets and liquor stores from 11 pm to 9pm will prevent pre-loading with cheaper alcohol outside licensed premises.   
Manurewa- Papakura ward councilor Angela Dalton said on Breakfast TV this morning “easy access to alcohol is not helping our people who are really in distress from addiction and that goes across any age, any culture, it’s nondiscriminatory but it's certainly impacting our kids.   
She went on to say the area has a young population, and children are walking past liquor outlets daily. She believes it’s subliminal messaging and they might be going home to places that are fueled by alcohol. She believes if we can calm that, this is going to be better off for everyone.   
 
The new rules mean: 
Supermarkets and bottle stores cannot sell alcohol after 9pm (the cut-off is 11pm now). 
Bars, restaurants and other on-licences cannot sell alcohol later than 4am in the central city and 3am elsewhere. 
Applications for new bottle stores in the central city and 23 other areas will be rejected for two years unless they meet a very high threshold. 
Sports clubs and RSAs can sell alcohol no later than 1am. 
No change for liquor licences for festivals and events. They will continue to be assessed by the district licencing committee. 
I can work around this – it doesn’t need to be an issue for me – but if it helps other people and other communities, I am happy to deal with a small inconvenience of fewer sales hours.  You?

Francesca Rudkin: Do we really need more liquor stores in Auckland?

So if you get good news, does it matter how the news is delivered?  

When it comes to running the economy, and making decisions about refixing your mortgage, you could argue it does.  

But let’s focus on the surprising, good news yesterday.  For the first time since March 2020, the  Reserve Bank cut the official cash rate by 25 basis points to 5.25%.  The reasoning for the cut is that New Zealand’s annual consumer price inflation is returning to within the Monetary Policy Committee’s 1 to 3% target band – it currently sits at 3.3 - but the indication is it will continue to decrease.   

The Reserve Bank’s released a new forecast rate track that suggests the OCR will fall from here to at least 5% by the end of the year and to at least 4.5% by June next year. 

This morning, Reserve Bank Governor Adrian Orr explained to the Mike Hosking Breakfast why the RBNZ made the decision to lower the OCR... 

“Plenty of time and plenty of information has happened since May, and we've also communicated that as well. You know, we had a July monetary policy statement where we quite clearly showed our level of, growing level of confidence that the monetary policy is working, growing concern that the output is falling quicker than  necessary, and so we moved in August.”

So, hallelujah. It’s a dose of hope, a ray of sunshine, and the right move, but is it enough of a move to make a difference to you? It depends on your individual circumstances as to whether it makes an impact now – or in a years' time 

The tax cuts have come into play, and OCR is dropping, but we’re also dealing with rising rates, increases in utility bills and hefty insurances bills. So what impact will this news have on your household?  

I am sure that Adrian Orr was excited to finally be announcing a rate cut – but was it communicated well? The news has been overshadowed by frustration and criticism over the way it was delivered.  

Reactions among bank economists were mixed, all agreed the direction of travel for rates is down, and sooner rather than later, and New Zealand’s major banks have moved swiftly in lowering mortgage lending rates, but if you’re a consumer  making decisions about your mortgage, or business loan and had looked to the Reserve Bank to give you an indication of how things were going to progress – you quite rightly might be a little taken aback by this earlier than anticipated move.  

 In February and April, the Reserve Bank reasoned that the OCR would need to remain at a restrictive level for a “sustained period” to ensure inflation returned to the 1-3% target. 

In May, that wording changed – it was slightly softer. “Monetary policy needs to remain restrictive to ensure inflation returns to target within a reasonable timeframe.” 

And in July, things loosened up more with the central bank stating “monetary policy will need to remain restrictive” but that “the extent of this restraint will be tempered over time consistent with the expected decline in inflation pressures”. 

We had been led to believe that we would not see cuts until next year – and I’m not sure this statement has enough detail to make anyone think otherwise.  

This was Adrian Orr defending the communication of the OCR cut to the Mike Hosking Breakfast ...

“Nothing we do today is going to affect today's inflation, so we're always looking forward. What are we seeing here? We're seeing more spare capacity of the economy taking out some of that inflation pressure and we're seeing global pricing falling and we're seeing business pricing behaviours change dramatically in New Zealand all for the positive, all consistent with one to 3% inflation.”

The cut is a good move, the RBNZ might have read the economy correctly, but were their intentions clear to you ? Have you been able to read between the lines and make decisions that will allow you to benefit from this cut, and on going cuts over the coming year?  

The news yesterday was a step in the right direction – a new direction, but interpreting RBNZ statements has become a bit of an art. Maybe some pictures would have been helpful after all.  

So if you get good news, does it matter how the news is delivered?   
When it comes to running the economy, and making decisions about refixing your mortgage, you could argue it does.   
But let’s focus on the surprising, good news yesterday.  For the first time since March 2020, the  Reserve Bank cut the official cash rate by 25 basis points to 5.25%.  The reasoning for the cut is that New Zealand’s annual consumer price inflation is returning to within the Monetary Policy Committee’s 1 to 3% target band – it currently sits at 3.3 - but the indication is it will continue to decrease.    
The Reserve Bank’s released a new forecast rate track that suggests the OCR will fall from here to at least 5% by the end of the year and to at least 4.5% by June next year.  
This morning, Reserve Bank Governor Adrian Orr explained to the Mike Hosking Breakfast why the RBNZ made the decision to lower the OCR...  
“Plenty of time and plenty of information has happened since May, and we've also communicated that as well. You know, we had a July monetary policy statement where we quite clearly showed our level of, growing level of confidence that the monetary policy is working, growing concern that the output is falling quicker than  necessary, and so we moved in August.” 
So, hallelujah. It’s a dose of hope, a ray of sunshine, and the right move, but is it enough of a move to make a difference to you? It depends on your individual circumstances as to whether it makes an impact now – or in a years' time  
The tax cuts have come into play, and OCR is dropping, but we’re also dealing with rising rates, increases in utility bills and hefty insurances bills. So what impact will this news have on your household?   
I am sure that Adrian Orr was excited to finally be announcing a rate cut – but was it communicated well? The news has been overshadowed by frustration and criticism over the way it was delivered.   
Reactions among bank economists were mixed, all agreed the direction of travel for rates is down, and sooner rather than later, and New Zealand’s major banks have moved swiftly in lowering mortgage lending rates, but if you’re a consumer  making decisions about your mortgage, or business loan and had looked to the Reserve Bank to give you an indication of how things were going to progress – you quite rightly might be a little taken aback by this earlier than anticipated move.   
 In February and April, the Reserve Bank reasoned that the OCR would need to remain at a restrictive level for a “sustained period” to ensure inflation returned to the 1-3% target.  
In May, that wording changed – it was slightly softer. “Monetary policy needs to remain restrictive to ensure inflation returns to target within a reasonable timeframe.”  
And in July, things loosened up more with the central bank stating “monetary policy will need to remain restrictive” but that “the extent of this restraint will be tempered over time consistent with the expected decline in inflation pressures”.  
We had been led to believe that we would not see cuts until next year – and I’m not sure this statement has enough detail to make anyone think otherwise.   
This was Adrian Orr defending the communication of the OCR cut to the Mike Hosking Breakfast ... 
“Nothing we do today is going to affect today's inflation, so we're always looking forward. What are we seeing here? We're seeing more spare capacity of the economy taking out some of that inflation pressure and we're seeing global pricing falling and we're seeing business pricing behaviours change dramatically in New Zealand all for the positive, all consistent with one to 3% inflation.” 
The cut is a good move, the RBNZ might have read the economy correctly, but were their intentions clear to you ? Have you been able to read between the lines and make decisions that will allow you to benefit from this cut, and on going cuts over the coming year?   
The news yesterday was a step in the right direction – a new direction, but interpreting RBNZ statements has become a bit of an art. Maybe some pictures would have been helpful after all.

Francesca Rudkin: Interpreting RBNZ statements has become a bit of an art

The All Blacks have responded to last week’s 38-30 defeat to Argentina at Sky Stadium by making major changes to their squad for the rematch at Eden Park.

Four changes in the starting XV see Tamaiti Williams start in the front row with Ethan de Groot (neck) out injured, Rieko Ioane returns at centre and a new wing combination sees Caleb Clarke and Will Jordan move into the starting roles.

Former captain Sam Cane is in line to make his return to test rugby from the bench, with Anton Lienert-Brown and Mark Tele’a both moving back to the reserves after starting last weekend.

“We’ve reflected deeply on our performance and our preparation individually and collectively is something we have all owned,” All Blacks coach Scott Robertson said.

“Our intent and focus has shifted solely to Eden Park.”

Newstalk ZB Sport Reporter Nathan Limm told Francesca Rudkin he’s excited to see how Sam Cane goes, since he’ll be going straight from club rugby into a test match, having missed Super Rugby due to being in Japan, and then being off with a back injury.

He said that Cane’s got more than enough experience to pull it off, but it’ll be interesting to see his impact when he does come onto the field.

LISTEN ABOVE

The All Blacks have responded to last week’s 38-30 defeat to Argentina at Sky Stadium by making major changes to their squad for the rematch at Eden Park. 
Four changes in the starting XV see Tamaiti Williams start in the front row with Ethan de Groot (neck) out injured, Rieko Ioane returns at centre and a new wing combination sees Caleb Clarke and Will Jordan move into the starting roles. 
Former captain Sam Cane is in line to make his return to test rugby from the bench, with Anton Lienert-Brown and Mark Tele’a both moving back to the reserves after starting last weekend. 
“We’ve reflected deeply on our performance and our preparation individually and collectively is something we have all owned,” All Blacks coach Scott Robertson said. 
“Our intent and focus has shifted solely to Eden Park.” 
Newstalk ZB Sport Reporter Nathan Limm told Francesca Rudkin he’s excited to see how Sam Cane goes, since he’ll be going straight from club rugby into a test match, having missed Super Rugby due to being in Japan, and then being off with a back injury. 
He said that Cane’s got more than enough experience to pull it off, but it’ll be interesting to see his impact when he does come onto the field. 
LISTEN ABOVE

Dr Grant Hewison: Lawyer and Secretary of Communities Against Alcohol Harm, on changes to alcohol sales in Auckland

In 1 playlist(s)

Kerre Woodham Mornings Podcast

Social links

Follow podcast

Recent clips