Alcohol retailers brace for earlier cut-off time in Auckland

By Maia Ingoe of RNZ

Auckland liquor stores and other retailers are preparing for frustrated customers, with new rules governing the sale of alcohol coming into force tonight.

From today, alcohol can not be sold at supermarkets, liquor stores or dairies after 9pm. Auckland Council voted unanimously on the changes earlier this year

It will mean an early closing time for many bottle shops in Auckland. Liquor City Manuwera will be closing two hours earlier than normal and manager Gurjot Heer said they had been doing their best to inform customers, and had put up council posters about the new rules.

“[The] vast majority have heard about it, or have seen it on the news, but we do have a certain percentage of customers that are completely unaware.

“As we’ve been telling our customers, some people have been like, ‘Oh, really?’ They haven’t heard the news at all.”

He said they were expecting some to be frustrated when they discover they could not get a drink this evening.

“Being a store in South Auckland, we always face that … now we close at 9pm, we are going get that a bit more often.

“Whenever we close, we always get cars driving by, knocking on the doors you know — I think we’re gonna get a lot more of that.”

In the city centre, most people RNZ spoke to hoped the change would make the city safer.

“It’s really got to be a good thing, because there’s a lot of danger out on the streets and that sort of thing after dark,” one man said.

“Yeah, excellent. Because there’s too much going on here that is unsavoury. I wouldn’t venture out into town, at dark,” said another.

“Potentially could be a good thing, it’ll stop people who are potentially already intoxicated from buying more alcohol,” one woman said.

Some were less sure.

From today, alcohol can not be sold at supermarkets, liquor stores or dairies after 9pm. Photo / 123RF

“I don’t think it’ll make much of a difference,” one woman said.

Most people said they would not have to change when they buy alcohol.

“I prefer to have a beer at home,” said one.

“I have lots of wine at home,” said another. “I think maybe the younger generation might be affected, but potentially not us.”

Retail NZ chief executive Carolyn Young said stores were putting more senior staff on checkouts in preparation for customers who might get frustrated at not being able to check out alcohol after 9pm.

“We have seen quite a significant [ride] in violent and aggressive behaviour in store in the last few years, and this is one of the situations where there’s potential for people to get upset.”

Young said shops had invested a lot into getting ready for the change — but it came at a challenging time of year.

“We’re all in celebration mode, and we’re out getting stocks and supplies for Christmas and New Year. Probably timing-wise, from a retailers’ perspective, having that ease of transition, is not the easiest time of year to do it in.”

That was echoed by Heer.

“It’s sort of inconvenient for them to put it in the middle of December. They could’ve put it a month or so earlier, so it gives the public time to adapt and get used to, or they could’ve implemented it in January, after New Years.”

Communities Against Alcohol Harm secretary Dr Grant Hewison said it would reduce alcohol-related harm over summer.

“This change is really addressing that risky behaviour, where people head out as they could yesterday, at [11pm] and purchase alcohol. This change will mean they’ve got to plan more carefully and act more carefully in terms of their consumption of alcohol into the late evening and early morning.”

But he said the law might already be outdated. It was first drafted in 2015, and legal challenges from supermarkets held it back from coming into force for years.

“One is around protecting neighbourhood centres. We’re concerned that some of those may not be protected in the way the (Local Alcohol Policy) envisages, and also remote selling, online selling, just being clear about how that can be done in our communities, particularly with the very fast, immediate delivery that’s now available through some of the providers.”

After 9pm today, those looking for a drink will have to turn to a bar or restaurant, instead of their local late-night bottle shop.