Night-time assaults could be slashed by more than a third simply by cutting back on pubs' operating hours, scientific research suggests.
Reducing operating hours of the pubs in Newcastle, Australia, brought a fall in night-time assault rates there of 37%, and a lead researcher believes New Zealand cities could achieve the same sort of result.
Associate Prof Kypros Kypri, of the University of Newcastle School of Medicine and Public Health, said he was not surprised there was an impact, but was amazed how significant the reduction in violence was.
The research was conducted after the New South Wales judiciary pulled back pub closing from 5am to 3am, the time later relaxed to 3.30am, in the CBD, in March 2008.
The researchers decided the move provided an opportune time to study the effects of changes to trading hours.
Data collected showed a 26% fall in assaults occurring between 10pm and 3am, and a 67% drop in assaults between 3am and 6am, which suggested the earlier closing time was preventing people from staying out.
The number of assaults were reduced by about 200 during the study period from March 2008 to September 2009.
While a specific cause of the reduction was not known, fewer people, and lower intoxication levels could have contributed.
Prof Kypri is a University of Otago graduate and a research associate with Otago's Injury Prevention Research Unit.
He had considered evaluating changes to Dunedin pubs' opening hours, but such research was too hard to implement.
He believed the Newcastle research was relevant to New Zealand as it was "not dissimilar" to many cities here.
His findings were part of a submission to the Law Commission, and he believed the Government's proposal for an "uncontroversial" 4am closing time did not go far enough.
"There are few people who would argue that 4am is too early, I think it is too late."
Having to provide food, transport and emergency service workers late at night was inappropriate and unsustainable, considering the amount of assaults on police officers and medical professionals by intoxicated people.
"How can we continue to do that? That's a decision for society to make."
Which is why he viewed the Government's proposal to give power back to communities, allowing them to have greater say on liquor policies in their area, as "appropriate", given they have the responsibility of dealing with consequences.
Prof Kypri also supported the Law Commission's recommendation to raise excise tax on alcohol, which the Government scrapped.
"The most effective and cost-effective way to reduce alcohol-related harm, is through taxation.
"To reject the most effective strategy is hard to justify."
There was popular support for this strategy, and rejection of it led him to question if alcohol companies had "undue influence" on Government decision-making.
