Cr Cocks is working on a "community charter" that he hopes will signal to residents and visitors that drunken behaviour will not be tolerated in Wanaka.
About 25 people attended the forum, including parents, police, secondary school pupils, teachers, media and business owners.
The initiative followed a May 21 incident, which resulted in two teenagers being taken to hospital with alcohol poisoning, nine teenagers refused entry to a Mt Aspiring College concert, a recommendation a liquor outlet be prosecuted for selling alcohol to a 15-year-old boy, and the boy being referred to the police youth aid scheme.
Cr Cocks took a wide-ranging view of community behaviour and steered away from a postmortem of the MacStock concert.
"I am still personally pushing for some sort of conduct charter that we can hang beneath [Wanaka's] new marketing brand of "lifestyle reserve" . . .
The seven commandments of Wanaka, if you will," he said.
Sgt Aaron Nicholson said smoke-free initiatives showed attitude change campaigns did work.
"We can make the change, but it is just that bit harder [with drinking] because everyone does it," Sgt Nicholson said.
A culture change needed to acknowledge that saying "no" to alcohol was normal, not odd, Sgt Nicholson said.
Year 13 pupil Alex Black said culture change was possible if individuals wanted it.
"It's the want from the individual.
"People have to want not to take alcohol to parties. As long as you have the desire to, you will," he said.
Alex said some young people chose to drink, like they chose to smoke, "because they don't care if they die".
"They don't care if they are throwing up in the corner by the end of the night, because that is what they want."
There was also an element of escapism in drinking, Alex said.
"Has incorrect parenting given them an emotional complex that's left them in this situation?"However, Alex believed most people went out to have a good time and drank responsibly.
"If you are not using alcohol as a solution to a problem, it's not a danger," he said.
Among suggestions were:
• Banning alcohol at council events.
• Considering licences for events that focus on alcohol consumption, such as beer or wine festivals.
• Better support for Wanaka's youth initiatives and venues.
• Dropping divisive community agendas to obtain sports facilities.
• Better enforcement of host responsibility rules.
• Police to provide college pupils with more education on laws and rules.
• Media to consider how reports and images may influence the drinking culture.
