Liquor reforms balance regulation and responsibility – Government

The Government today announced proposals to address youth drinking and to tighten the rules around alcohol advertising.

The announcement follows two reviews: one into the sale and supply of liquor to minors and the other to review the regulations around alcohol advertising.

Sale and Supply of liquor review

Justice Minister Mark Burton said the review into the sale and supply of alcohol to minors identified several key issues, including a permissive drinking environment and attitudes by parents and peers, as well as unsupervised consumption of large quantifies of alcohol by minors.

The proposals arising out of this review focus on delaying the onset of youth drinking, ensuring that youth who drink do so in a manner that minimises harm, and ensuring that young people whose drinking is harmful receive appropriate help, Mr Burton said.

“The Government believes this set of proposals is a constructive mix of legislative changes and measures to improve attitudes to limit young people’s access to alcohol. Parents’ overall responsibility in guiding their children is maintained.”

“A key proposal is to reduce blood alcohol content limit to zero for drivers under 20 who do not hold a full licence,” said Mark Burton

“Youth, alcohol, and cars are often a lethal combination. Inexperienced drivers are particularly at risk of alcohol-related crashes,” said Mark Burton.

Other key proposals include:

• regulating social supply by creating an offence for adults (other than parents or guardians) to supply alcohol to a minor who consumes it in a public place;
• creating an infringement offence for a minor to supply alcohol to another minor who consumes it in a public place;
• Implementing early intervention programmes as an alternative sanction to infringement notices;
• implementing a “three strikes and you’re out” approach to managers who are convicted three times for selling liquor to a minor within a two-year period; and
• amending the law so that the only defence for selling alcohol to a minor is if the seller sighted one of the approved specified age identification documents.

Mr Burton said the changes need to be supported by an appropriate regulatory environment, public awareness and ownership of issues, increased understanding of rights and responsibilities, consistent and effective enforcement, and improved compliance by industry.

Alcohol Advertising review
Associate Health Minister Damien O’Connor also announced that part of the Government reforms include proposals to strengthen regulations around alcohol advertising.

The Government-initiated review looked at the regulatory framework for alcohol advertising to determine whether it was sufficiently aligned with the Government's alcohol policies and harm reduction objectives.

Mr O’Connor said the proposals are based on the recommendations from a steering group including government agencies, health sector and advertising representatives, which consulted widely and released it’s report in May.

Mr O’Connor said the review found that alcohol advertising plays a role in shaping the culture of drinking in New Zealand and a small but significant association between the level of exposure to alcohol advertising and alcohol consumption.

The proposals provide a sensible way of addressing one of the contributors to alcohol related harm, he said.

“The new proposed framework for alcohol advertising extends the scope of the self-regulatory system to include all forms of advertising and promotion, recognising that alcohol is increasingly promoted using a range of emerging techniques such as through the Internet. It also strengthens the regulatory system, introduces sanctions and gives the Ministry of Health a role for the first time.”

Non-legislative measures are also proposed, including increased monitoring, research, and voluntary codes for alcohol sponsorship and in-store display. The new system will be reviewed after two years of implementation, Mr O’Connor said.

The key proposals:

• Strengthening the self-regulatory system, basing it on new legislative provisions to ensure that the system meets public policy goals.
• Widening the scope of the system to cover a broader range of marketing techniques across all media, including packaging, labelling, merchandising and “in store” promotions and price promotions.
• Independently audited monitoring.
• A planned programme of research based on the policy goals.
• A review after two years to ensure sufficient progress is being made.