NZABC executive director Virginia Nicholls told The Front Page the industry supports targeted interventions.
“Alcohol interlock court-mandated orders have increased from 262 back in 2015 up to nearly 4000 in 2024. The courts could actually increase the number of alcohol interlock orders that they put on people who are drinking and driving,” Nicholls said.
“It’s a really good idea. These people are hazardous drinkers. They’ve got significant drinking issues. This is something we can do, that we can strengthen, because it is happening at the moment, but it needs to happen more,” she said.
An alcohol interlock is a breathalyser device wired into a vehicle’s ignition system and prevents the car from starting if it detects alcohol in the driver’s breath.
The survey also reveals that 55% of respondents support police issuing spot fines for minor alcohol-related offences.
AA analysis, comparing some Australian jurisdictions with New Zealand, shows that in New South Wales, a low-level drink-driving offence starts off with a fine of about $600 and three months’ loss of licence, whereas a similar offence here would be a $200 fine and a deduction of 50 demerit points.
Analysis done by Stuff last year showed that the number of discharges without convictions has skyrocketed in recent years. It was 117 in 2014, jumped in 2021 to 403 and then in 2023, there were 1028 discharges without conviction.
Nicholls said this figure is surprising.
“That is certainly higher than what I would’ve expected. It’s in the past been very difficult to get a discharge for conviction for drink driving, so I don’t know what’s going on there, but those are concerning numbers,” she said.
Research conducted by DB Breweries, released in 2020, showed that while nearly three-quarters of motorists were confident they knew the rules, only 22% actually knew the correct legal adult limit.
Nicholls said while education programmes have improved, more still needs to be done.
“Definitely more targeted education in schools, but also in workplaces as well.
“We cover, at the moment, a third of all high schools in New Zealand. We would like to see every high school receive this programme. Independent researchers showed it’s very successful and we need to get to young people early, but equally, it’s also quite important that we do more in workplaces as well,” she said.
The NZBAC, the Tomorrow Project, governed by Spirits New Zealand, New Zealand Winegrowers and the Brewers Association, has funded the Life Education Trust to deliver a theatre-based programme for high school students around drinking.
Listen to the full episode to hear more about what New Zealanders want to see when it comes to the consequences of drink driving.
The Front Page is a daily news podcast from the New Zealand Herald, available to listen to every weekday from 5am. The podcast is presented by Chelsea Daniels, an Auckland-based journalist with a background in world news and crime/justice reporting who joined NZME in 2016.
You can follow the podcast at iHeartRadio, Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts.
