Brown promises to reduce booze outlets and pokies

L-R: Colin Craig, Simon Prast and Len Brown at the Otahuhu Town Hall. Photo / Steven McNicholl

Super City mayoral contest frontrunner Len Brown has promised to slash the number of liquor outlets and poker machines if he wins the city's top job.

He told the election's sole mayoral candidates' forum on social issues yesterday that he would be "proud" to apply Manukau City's existing "sinking-lid" policy on pokies across the whole region.

And he predicted that a new Government law giving local communities a say on liquor licence bids would create "the possibility of a sinking lid in terms of liquor licensing outlets".

He said all 21 local boards across the Super City should have a role in drawing up alcohol policies for their areas.

Mr Brown, one of only four candidates who turned up at the forum, got a warm reception from about 80 people from social service agencies. The organisers included social service and health groups and the Problem Gambling Foundation.

Spokeswoman Zoe Hawke from the Maori public health agency Hapai Te Hauora Tapui said Mr Brown's main rival, Auckland City Mayor John Banks, said he could not fit the forum into his schedule.

The Problem Gambling Foundation criticised Mr Banks' Auckland City Council in March when it adopted a "softer" form of the sinking lid for pokies than Manukau and Waitakere, allowing venues that close down to transfer their machines to a new venue as long as they reduce the number by at least one.

Manukau and Waitakere have both pioneered classical sinking-lid policies, banning any new pokie venues and not replacing those that close.

North Shore, Rodney and Papakura have allowed new venues as long as the total number of machines stays below a cap. Franklin has had no cap.

Mr Brown said he had fought a long battle to win legislation to give local communities a say over applications for liquor licences too.

He said he was not opposed to responsible use of alcohol or gambling, but the proliferation of alcohol outlets had hurt communities such as Otara.

Mayoral candidates Colin Craig and Simon Prast told the forum that they also supported reducing the numbers of both pokies and liquor outlets.

Mr Craig said he told a Family First survey early in the campaign that he did not know whether pokie outlets should be subject to a sinking lid.

"Since then I have come up to speed and I would support this policy," he said. "You go to the United States - they have one pokie for 4000 people. You come to Auckland and we have one pokie for 180 people. Do we really need that many?"

Mr Brown told a questioner from the Cancer Society that he would also support making the new Auckland Council "a smokefree council". The Cancer Society said Manukau and Waitakere had banned smoking in playgrounds, sports fields and other areas used by children.