MP wants to put stop to drunks

Clayton Mitchell says it's not okay to be out on the street tripping over yourself. Photo / File

Changing New Zealand's binge drinking culture is top priority for Tauranga-based New Zealand First List MP Clayton Mitchell.

MP and former bar owner has submitted his first member's bill in a bid to make it an offence to be drunk in a public place.

"The private member's bill is about personally responsibility," he said. "At the moment it's an offence to be intoxicated on licensed premises. It's not an offence for the person who's intoxicated but it's a crime for the licensee.

"I think we need to take more responsibility for our own actions. We're always very quick to point the finger and say, 'it's your fault, you made me do it'."

The bill would make it an offence to be drunk or drug affected in a public place, or while trespassing on private property, to a degree that serious harm could result.

It would provide for penalties on conviction of imprisonment of up to three months or a fine of up to $2000.

It would lower the threshold for disorderly behaviour to include a person affected by a substance to such a degree that his or her speech, balance, co-ordination or behaviour was visibly impaired, and was incapable of protecting themselves from physical harm, was likely to cause physical harm to another person or was likely to cause significant damage to property.

With the recent tightening up of the drink drive laws and a slow change of attitude towards drinking, Mr Mitchell was confident his bill would get the support it needed inside and outside of Parliament as it was a "good sensible solution".

"This is just another step in the right direction. It's not okay to be out on the street tripping over yourself," he said.

"It needs to be brought back into play that you need to plan your decisions and plan your night out - plan when you're going to have your last drink."

Mr Mitchell said people would adjust to the new legislation as they had done with every previous change.

"In the 80s and 90s that was absolutely rife. Drunk people were everywhere. I remember when the legislation started to change. They said, 'what's the point in going to the pub if we can't get drunk'."

Mr Mitchell described alcohol as a social lubricant and said there was nothing wrong with having a couple of drinks but habits needed to be altered.

"I don't think there's a single person in the country that would say we haven't got a binge drinking culture. And is it a good thing? Absolutely not," he said.

"It just gives people the question mark in their head that I could get a fine."

Mr Mitchell said work was under way on his second member's bill which would aim to restrict where people could wear gang patches.

Member's bill: How it works
*Members' bills are those introduced by MPs who are not ministers.
*Every second Wednesday members' bills are debated in the House.
*Only eight members' bills awaiting first reading can be on the Order Paper on each members' day.
*When a space on the Order Paper becomes available, a ballot is held to decide which members' bill(s) will be introduced.

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