Police fight proposed drinking hours

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Police and health authorities are fighting a move to extend drinking hours at Wellington's inner city bars and clubs for an hour.

The week and a half long Alcohol Regulatory and Licensing Authority hearing into Wellington City Council's proposed alcohol policy started at Wellington District Court today.

Lawyer for police Tim Smith told the authority the council's Local Alcohol Policy (LAP) was as odds with the intent of the Sale and Supply of Alcohol Act 2012.

The council wanted to extend maximum alcohol trading hours in the city from the legislated hours, but police wanted to reduce those hours, Mr Smith said.

The Act was introduced in December last year and made default opening and closing hours to between 8am to 4am the following day for on-licences.

The council wanted to extend those hours to 7am until 5am the next day, Mr Smith said.

It did not want to change the off-licence hours of selling alcohol, which were between 7am and 11pm.

An LAP could be introduced, but not if the policy was unreasonable in light of the object of the Act, Mr Smith said.

Police wanted to reduce the end hours in the central city to 3am for on-licences and 9pm for off-licences.

At the time the bill was introduced, alcohol was estimated to contribute to 1000 deaths a year, Mr Smith said.

"[It was] implicated in 30 per cent of police-recorded offences, 34 per cent of recorded family violence and 50 per cent of homicides.

"During weekends it was estimated that up to 70 per cent of injury-based emergency department presentations were alcohol related."

The direct costs to the taxpayer of alcohol-related harm in New Zealand were estimated to be as high as $1200 million per annum, he said.

"Controls on the availability of alcohol are one method of reducing excessive drinking," Mr Smith said.

Wellington police alcohol harm prevention officer Sergeant Terry Fraser told the authority he had attended a wide range of incidents during his 15 years working in the force and alcohol was a factor in all sorts of crimes.

"It's become a fairly normal, standard expectation."

Others giving submissions at the hearing include Medical Officer of Health, Capital and Coast District Health Board, Foodstuffs, Progressives, Super Liquor, and B and M Entertainment, which includes the Mermaid Bar owned by the Chow brothers.

The hearing continues.