Auckland Council gets tough on buying booze after 9pm

OneNews 13 May 2015
If you’ve run out of booze and need to nip out to buy some more you’ll soon be out of luck if you’re in Auckland.

Councillors have voted to restrict opening hours for bottle shops and supermarkets selling alcohol in an effort to try and address alcohol related harm in high risk areas.

It’s the result of three years’ work and almost three thousand public submissions
.
“We heard some heart wrenching stories. The medical practitioners from Middlemore Hospital came in with case studies they’d had and it was horrific,” says Councillor Bill Cashmore, the local alcohol police chairperson.

Horrific enough to spark a raft of changes in when you can buy booze.

Supermarkets and bottle stores must stop selling at 9pm, instead of 11pm. Bars and pubs must by closed by 4am in the city, and 3am elsewhere.

There’ll be no new bottle stores for two years in high risk areas while existing stores face higher barriers to getting their licence renewed.
http://tvnz.co.nz/national-news/stock-up-early-auckland-council-gets-tough-buying-booze-after-9pm-6312129