Alcohol trading hours are being shortened in Napier and Hastings. Photo / File
Alcohol suppliers in Napier and Hastings are about to lose an hour of operation - but the new rules are not as strict as councils were originally seeking.
Currently, licensed premises in Napier and Hastings are subject to national guidelines, meaning on-licences (places in which people drink on the premises, such as bars) can open from 8am to 4am on the following day.
Off-licence establishments (where drinks are bought to be consumed off-site, such as supermarkets and bottle stores) can sell alcohol from 7am to 11pm.
From August 21, trading hours for supermarkets in Napier and Hastings are 7am-10pm, and other off-licences are 9am-10pm.
On-licenced premises will have to stop serving at 3am, with a mandatory one-way door policy from 2am.
Despite the tough new Local Alcohol Policy (LAP), the rules are not as strict as the two councils were originally aiming for regarding off-licence premises.
The original draft plan allowed supermarkets to have service hours of 7am-9pm, and other off-licences 9am-9pm.
The draft was appealed in the second half of 2016 by Foodstuffs North Island Limited, Progressive Enterprises Limited (now known as Woolworths NZ) and Super Liquor.
The appeal was over the new hours for off-licence premises.
Napier councillor Maxine Boag said council officers and the joint committee had battled for that hour.
"But you can't really compete financially with commercial interests with deep pockets.
"This has happened all over New Zealand."
She said the act needed to be reviewed and the current system allowed suppliers to act as regulators and make money "out of people's misery".
Napier's acting Mayor Faye White said she felt the LAP was still lacking teeth.
She wanted to see a government review of the Sale and Supply of Alcohol Act.
Hastings Mayor Sandra Hazlehurst said the process had been cumbersome and has cost ratepayers.
"For us, being able to make sure we are getting the local, community voice into the Local Alcohol Policy, that's the part that under the current act, we have been struggling with.
"The act does not allow for a strong community voice to impact any local alcohol policy."
Head of corporate affairs at Foodstuffs, Antoinette Laird, said retailers can only appeal sections of any LAP which they deem "unreasonable".
"If we succeed in an appeal it is because the Alcohol Authority has agreed with us that the element of the policy is unreasonable," she said.
"We appreciate that regulating the sale of alcohol is a challenging issue but there was a long and thorough process undertaken in the creation of the current act.
"We take our responsibility as a retailer of alcohol very seriously and will continue to abide by the stringent regulations and engage in the process on behalf of our customers."
Countdown's Alcohol Responsibility Manager Paul Radich said the company takes the approach of proactively engaging with proposed LAPs.
"Woolworths New Zealand did appeal one part of the Provisional LAP put forward by the Hastings District Council and Napier City Council, in relation to trading hours."
He said if any review was undertaken by the Government, Woolworths NZ would be happy to take part.
As well as the shorter hours of operation, the LAP includes a "sinking lid" policy in Flaxmere, Camberley and Maraenui, where no new off-licences will be issued. However, existing licences will be able to be renewed.
The decision has been met with some criticism - Napier councillor Claire Hague said during last Tuesday's meeting she would prefer to see a strength- rather than deficit-based model used in those areas.
"I still struggle with singling out communities and saying 'because of your demographic we believe you are less able to deal with alcohol outlets'.
"I want us to think carefully about what it is like to be a young person in those communities being dealt with differently."
Boag, one of the ward councillors for Maraenui, said she understood Hague's opinion but felt lower socio-economic areas were more vulnerable to commercial interests.
"They are more susceptible to exploitation from commercial interests and the damage there can be more severe perhaps, than the better-resourced communities."
Super Liquor has been contacted for comment.