Liquor Bill a concern for smaller retailers

A bill aiming to clamp down on alcohol sales in communities will come as a relief to alcohol watchdogs, but not to some smaller retailers.

The Sale and Supply of Liquor and Liquor Enforcement Bill was introduced to Parliament in August last year by the Labour government and passed its first reading in Parliament yesterday.

Among other things, it gives councils authority to draft alcohol management plans that set restrictions on the number of outlets in their area, and where they can be sited.

It would also eventually prevent the sale of alcohol at some stores with a floor area of less than 150sq m, but will allow three years to comply with conditions.

Action by the government in moving to adjust alcohol sale rules was sparked by the shooting of south Auckland liquor store owner Navtej Singh last year and general anti-social behaviour through alcohol consumption and the ease of young people being able to obtain it.

A south Auckland councillor has said the tightening of rules was only likely to spark price wars between supermarkets.

New Zealand Retailers Association chief executive John Albertson said today the association felt the proposed rules were flawed.

"The intent was that they were trying to reduce the availability of alcohol through inappropriate outlets and someone picked a square meterage of being one way of doing that," he told NZPA.

"I need to read the fine print, but I suspect it's not a great measure because if you think of many wine shops for example, they would be under that square meterage."

Mr Albertson said that parts of the bill didn't make much sense.

"I think it's more about the quality of outlet and not the size of outlet, and that would be the approach that we would take.

"It has certainly got some implications. We have to be careful that we don't define it so tightly that quality loses out to size."

He said dairies and superettes provided a useful and convenient supply of alcohol such as wine in communities, and losing the right to sell it would have financial implications.

"I think certainly a number of dairies would be making quite a significant part of their overall profit from the sale of wine."

- NZPA