Council beaten by liquor outlets

Dunedin Mayor Dave Cull is annoyed "vested interests with deep pockets" have won a long battle with the Dunedin City Council over the sale of alcohol.

Communities trying to curb the misuse and abuse of alcohol are coming up against an unreasonable process and the combined forces of supermarkets and liquor stores, he says.

Dunedin City councillors will now vote on Tuesday on whether to adopt a more lenient local alcohol policy (Lap) aimed at curbing alcohol-related harm, or abandon one all together.

Mr Cull is unhappy that influential supermarkets and liquor stores can appeal the will of local councils.

Developed in 2014, the plan included a proposal to cut off-licence hours back from 7am-11pm to just 9am-9pm.

It also proposed a moratorium on most types of bottle stores in North Dunedin, a requirement for alcohol management plans for off-licences, and the requirement for a certificate from the DCC planning department for off-licences.

New Zealand's two supermarket giants, Progressive Enterprises and Foodstuffs, as well as six other parties, appealed those parts of the policy to the Alcohol Regulatory Licensing Authority (Arla), and ultimately won.

Arla ruled parts of the council's local alcohol policy were unreasonable and there was no evidence they would reduce alcohol-related harm.

Councillors will be presented with an option to remove those sections but retain others, such as a one-way door policy and a reduction in on-licence hours.

Or they could vote to abandon the policy altogether, but have been warned the opportunities to minimise alcohol-related harm in the city could be lost.

Mr Cull said while he was disappointed the DCC had been challenged and ultimately ruled against, there were still parts of the policy which would reduce alcohol-related harm in the city.

In his role as the president of Local Government New Zealand, Mr Cull said he had talked to other mayors who had also voiced their frustrations about the process and its inconsistency across different councils.

Some of Dunedin's policies which were appealed made it into Auckland's policy, which was frustrating, he said.

Local councils would be approaching the Government about making changes to the way such policies were enacted.

"The irony is local alcohol policy is ultimately being decided on in Wellington and that's a contradiction to what it's there for."

Dunedin district licensing committee chairman Colin Weatherall said if the council passed the policy it would give the committee a significant tool and guidance in its decision-making.

Mr Weatherall said he could not comment on what option the councillors should adopt, but encouraged them to make a decision so the committee could start applying whatever the city's policies were as soon as possible.