Committee members considered proposed changes included in a draft of the Dunedin City Council’s local alcohol policy (LAP) at a hearing yesterday, after listening to 20 submitters from the public gallery on Wednesday.
The current LAP came into effect in February 2019, and the council was required to review it within six years.
In their submission, the police called for a prohibition on the sale of alcohol in glass containers, of a volume 500ml or less, from premises within a 1200m radius of the University of Otago — defined as 362 Leith St.
University of Otago proctor Dave Scott also called for a ban on the sale of alcohol in glass containers at all North Dunedin off-licences.
Cr David Benson-Pope said he had spent the evening "looking for unintended consequences".
"We don’t want to stop the matrons of Mornington going to New World for their elegant wine, or me, or anyone else.
"We have a sticky problem, and I use that quite deliberately, because dessert wines come in a 375ml container and we wouldn’t want to stop them having dessert wines with their elegant dinner, would we?"
Supermarkets sold "miniature" bottles of wine, and sake was also available in 300ml glass bottles and containers.
The committee needed to be "more sophisticated" than just talking about a ban on alcohol by volume, Cr Benson-Pope said.
Cr Steve Walker said they also needed to address the prevalence of glass in North Dunedin.
There was "no silver bullet" to eliminate that problem, and the issue arose because of large events involving alcohol.
Cr Andrew Whiley said, while not alcoholic, Perrier and Phoenix juice also came in glass bottles.
"I’d argue very strongly in the street cleanups there won’t be any remnants of Perrier bottles on the street," Cr Walker said.
"We’re creating a problem that doesn’t exist and we’re not going to see sauterne dessert wine bottles in the mess — what we’re seeing is those Heinekens and your cheap bottles of beer."
Cr Benson-Pope said they should focus on beer in glass bottles and RTDs, if agreed that those were the problem.
They would still be available in cans, so no-one would be disadvantaged in that respect.
"That, to me, would be less fraught than creating World War 3 with people who don’t want their purchasing interfered with."
Cr Kevin Gilbert said he was concerned if they started reducing offerings it would, as a consequence, encourage people to shift to alcohol in larger bottles.
"I’m just worrying that we’re actually going to move the issue."
Cr Bill Acklin said if there was any risk of people shifting their choice of drink to something in a glass container, they did not "want them going to wine".
Cr Jim O’Malley said not acting was also an action.
"We’ve got potential for unforeseen consequences, but we know what happens if we don’t act."
The committee passed a motion to adjourn the hearing until next Thursday in order for the council to supply the committee with a briefing on the Sale and Supply of Alcohol Act 2012 and its amendment Bill, as well as case law surrounding both Bills.
