A hearing of the Dunedin district licensing committee was convened yesterday after police opposed the renewal of Pak’nSave’s liquor licence.
Sergeant Steve Jones sought two conditions be imposed:
- No advertising or promotion of alcohol on the exterior of the Hillside Rd premises.
- No single sales of RTDs, beer or cider less than 500ml; excluding craft beer.
He provided maps of the South Dunedin area which charted police call-outs where alcohol was a contributing factor.
"Police records of alcohol-related incidents in the area indicate that the 1km radius surrounding the premises is one of the worst areas for calls for police service in Dunedin City," he said.
"Frequent incidents of family harm and disorder are attended by police within this area."
Ian Thain, counsel for McDonald Holdings Ltd — the company behind Dunedin’s Pak’nSave — pointed out there was a slew of on-licence premises in the area too, particularly in King Edward St.
There was no evidence of alcohol-related harm stemming directly from the supermarket, he said.
Mr Thain argued the imposition of a ban on single-can sales would be "unreasonable", and he said the police’s stance was paradoxical.
"It’s obvious the more quantity of alcohol, the greater risk they will drink too much. If one buys a single can, the most that can be drunk is that single can," he said.
"There is nothing intrinsic about a small volume that increases a risk of alcohol-related harm."
Pak’nSave owner William McDonald said the single cans he sold (that were not specifically for individual sale) were offered in that form when there was damage to multi-packs.
He blamed his thriftiness on his "Scottish heritage".
"I don’t want to throw them in the skip," he said.
Mr McDonald said he deliberately did not sell the product chilled so it was not in its "ready-to-drink form".
Under cross-examination from Sgt Jones, he remained steadfast in his belief that selling individual cans was appropriate.
"There’s a market for those single-serve can sales because people value that option. It’s not a market made up entirely of risky drinkers. It’s not a market made of alcoholics and drunks," Mr Thain said.
"There are a lot of good reasons why the community want the option of buying a single can . . . maybe they only want one beer with dinner or with the game on TV."
He said Mr McDonald would be happy to repackage the beer or cider that came from damaged boxes and sell it in quantities of more than one.
Mr Thain said Pak’nSave did not advertise on the exterior of its building and did not intend to.
The parties were instructed to file their closing legal submissions by the end of next week so the committee could consider its decision.
