Te Puke liquor ban gains strong support

A liquor ban could be imposed on Te Puke's shopping centre to combat the loutish behaviour of a hard core group of about 15 to 20 men.

Western Bay District councillors yesterday agreed that Te Puke could join Waihi Beach and Katikati in having a liquor ban when liquor control rules were reviewed next year.

Police have swung their weight behind the campaign led by Pongakawa councillor Kevin Marsh who yesterday vividly described how his wife Andrea was abused by drunks sitting outside a Te Puke butchery shop on a sunny spring day.

The abuse happened a couple of days after Cr Marsh had met police over complaints he received from some town retailers.

He said the three men yelled out obscenities to his wife, who was sitting in the front passenger seat eating an ice cream, ending with the words that she was white trash.

Cr Marsh told the Bay of Plenty Times after yesterday's meeting that she was so disgusted she took a cellphone photo of the man and then complained to police.

He witnessed more threatening behaviour in the town's supermarket carpark. Every time a woman came out of the supermarket by herself, she was followed by a man until she reached her car. In another instance, a man repeatedly stood behind lone women at money machines.

"You don't need things like that happening in Te Puke," he said.

He sought the support of the Te Puke Community Board after repeatedly hearing complaints from retailers about men harassing people outside their shops. The letter seeking a liquor ban has received widespread community support including from Te Puke's Economic Development Group, retailers and the police.

The men's behaviour included urinating in doorways when it was raining. "Retailers were bloody annoyed. They asked would I do something, and that is when I started the ball rolling. The whole of Te Puke is behind this."

Cr Marsh said police wanted to tip the grog out in front of the men but they could not because it was legal to drink alcohol in the area. He said the men were not homeless but harangued people for money. Sergeant Mark Holmes of Te Puke Police told the council there was a hard core group of 15 to 20 men. He said the liquor ban would be a valuable tool in achieving a safer community.

Tauranga Police's alcohol harm-reduction and liquor-licensing co-ordinator Sergeant Nigel McGlone said liquor bans had been really effective in the Tauranga and Mount Maunganui CBDs. He assured councillors that there was a graduated response and people would not get into trouble for carrying a bottle of wine to a restaurant. "But when there is disorderly or disruptive behaviour, it is another tool in our toolbox."

Cr Margaret Murray-Benge said liquor bans set standards and let everyone know the community felt strongly about it. Cr Mike Williams warned that unless the ban was pushed to the maximum and covered the whole town, like in Katikati, they would end up with ban creep as the problem migrated outwards.

Council senior policy analyst Emily Rogers said the introduction of a liquor ban could mean excluding permitted al fresco dining areas. The bylaw review could take six to seven months.