Caversham Liquor owner Brenda Yee was commenting at a District Licensing Committee meeting yesterday after police objected to her licence over the sale of single-serve high-strength alcohol.
"If a person wants to buy one beer they should be able to buy that one beer.
"We all want to have a choice of what we want to buy — why should we restrict a person’s choice? We would be taking away a person’s right," Ms Yee said.
Police want two conditions to be added to the licence — no single sales of RTDs, beer or cider of 500ml or less and no alcohol advertising on the external premises.
Ms Yee said these conditions were not clearly defined and she wanted evidence to justify the relevance to her store.
It sold to people of low socio-economic status who could only afford single-serve products.
These were mostly working class people and tradespeople who bought one or two singles after work and not the student population of north Dunedin.
The products in question were sold at a constant price of more than $4 per serving and were not as cheap as at the supermarket.
If the condition was added, poorer customers would just go elsewhere and Caversham Liquor would lose business, Ms Yee said.
Others would just end up buying larger quantities, which just promoted excessive consumption and harm.
"If they are forced to buy more, then they will consume more."
Submitted as evidence by the liquor store were testimonies from the community expressing "overwhelming support".
One customer said they preferred to buy smaller quantities from the store, rather than a six-pack, because if they were to have a "bad week" they would "have no control and down the whole amount".
Ms Yee said advertising outside the store had been there for 15 years and prevented graffiti being drawn on its white walls and, if removed, would increase visibility into the store, which would attract threats to the store.
Committee chairman Colin Weatherall suggested a piece of street art could be commissioned to replace the advertising.
Sergeant Steve Jones, of Dunedin, said the store was the only off-license premises in the area.
It was in the heart of a vulnerable community and alcohol sold at the outlet contributed to incidents of family harm and disorder in what was "one of the worst area for calls for police services in Dunedin".
"There doesn’t need to be a direct relation to the applicant’s premises itself to show the premises is contributing to alcohol harm in the area," he said.
He had not seen any other liquor store in the area with the extent of external advertising as Caversham Liquor, Sgt Jones said.
A cross-examination of police evidence by Cr Marie Laufiso revealed the store was not in fact the only liquor store in the area.
The Bottle O Hillside, at the corner of Hillside Rd and Helena St, fell within the 800m radius of reported incidents of Caversham Liquor.
