Countdown Dunedin Central voluntarily chose to remove high-strength single-serve beer from their shelves over a year before the renewal of their licence was opposed at a district licensing committee hearing earlier this month.
Despite this, police opposed the licence, wanting the products removed.
"We take our responsibilities as an alcohol retailer seriously and proactively work with all stakeholders, including police and local councils, to ensure that our approach to the sale and promotion of alcohol addresses any expectations of the local communities and complies with all applicable legislation.
"Last year, after conversations with the Dunedin licensing inspectorate, we decided to no longer stock certain high-strength single-serve alcohol products.
"We have also removed similar products from other stores where specific concerns have been raised.
"In regards to concerns raised by police, they didn’t raise these with us before opposing the renewal of our liquor licences, and it’s disappointing that our licence applications were challenged on these grounds when the products were not being sold, and actually had been removed from shelves over a year ago.
"We look forward to working constructively with police and Dunedin [city] council regarding liquor licensing in our Dunedin stores."
Alcohol harm and prevention officer Sergeant Steve Jones, of Dunedin, was not willing to comment on the hearing until a decision from the committee was released, but said police’s stance had not changed.
"It’s entirely up to the applicant as to what they think of police.
"He’s entitled to his opinion.
"It doesn’t change police stance."
Sgt Jones said police had challenged the supermarket’s claims due to a lack of evidence.
"They claimed they had an agreement with a former licensing inspector in relation to those products.
"However, we challenged that because there was no formal evidence presented showing that to be true.
"We can’t really rest our laurels on someone who just claims something without actually putting it in writing, hence why we prefer licence conditions.
"Long story short, there was no evidence of that in the hearing."
At the hearing, counsel for Countdown Allison Arthur-Young had disputed police’s objections.
She said the store had not stocked high-strength alcohol since April last year.
"Large canned, mainstream high-strength beer is not stocked at this store."
"You can find those products a few blocks away, but you will not find them in this supermarket."
A photo was contained in a licensing inspector’s report supplied in the hearing’s public agenda.
The photo, dated April 28, showed single-serve beers available for sale on a shelf at Countdown Dunedin Central in Cumberland St.
The products in the photo were 500ml cans of beer all under 5%, ranging from $2.50 to $5.
At the hearing, when asked what percentage he considered as "high-octane beer", Sgt Jones said it was up for the decision-makers to interpret, and the police stance was around price point, not alcohol percentage.
