Regional liquor trade rules for Wairarapa

Regional bar, pub and bottle-store closing and trading times, along with other changes regarding the sale of liquor in Wairarapa, are provisional.

New maximum trading hours for selling alcohol have been set for the whole of Wairarapa with bars having to close by 1am and off-licences ceasing to sell liquor by 10pm.

The times, with other changes regarding sale of liquor, are provisional but have been signed off by all three district councils following two years of work by the Wairarapa Alcohol Working Group.

The group of representatives from Masterton, Carterton and South Wairarapa, with police and the Ministry of Health, has formed a provisional Wairarapa Local Alcohol Policy (LAP), in accordance with the Sale and Supply of Alcohol Act 2012. The new rules basically standardise hours throughout Wairarapa .

There will be an appeal period extending to July 10 and open only to police, the medical officer of health, and anyone who made a submission on the draft Wairarapa LAP.

The only grounds for appeal are that part of the LAP is "unreasonable in light of the object of the Act".

Should no appeals be lodged to the Alcohol Regulatory and Licensing Authority, the provisional Wairarapa LAP will be adopted, taking effect no sooner than three months after public notification.

South Wairarapa deputy mayor Viv Napier, who chairs the Wairarapa Alcohol Working Group, said the community has had a major input into the provisional LAP.

"We have undergone a robust process in developing this policy, with unprecedented levels of community engagement.

"The provisional LAP is the result of more than two years' work and feedback from around 2000 individuals and groups through our Community Alcohol Survey.

"We believe we now have a provisional policy which will serve the needs of our region, while helping to reduce harm caused by alcohol."