It is too easy for children to get alcohol, Wanaka and Queenstown police and youth workers say, but youth drinking is a year-round issue connected to celebrations and not just a ski season problem.
Older friends and parents were the ones most likely to give alcohol to children, they said when contacted yesterday.
A 13-year-old Wanaka boy nearly died of alcohol poisoning on Saturday after drinking alcohol at a SnowSports NZ camp at Base Backpackers.
The alcohol was allegedly stolen from the Mint Bar and provided to him by other teenagers. The Mint Bar has since changed its goods delivery and storage procedures to try to ensure a similar opportunity does not occur.
But Constable Greg Nolet, of Wanaka, said the boy was not the only youth in the district to have been poisoned by alcohol recently. He and St John ambulance staff were called to help a 17-year-old girl two weeks ago after she became sick from alcohol.
Sergeant Aaron Nicholson, who heads Wanaka's community policing team, said police heard about a handful of cases - maybe five a year - of teenagers with alcohol poisoning.
Wanaka police had needed to baby-sit drunk girls out without their parents' knowledge and abandoned by friends, he said.
But Sgt Nicholson, who has been working in Wanaka for eight years, could only recall one other young person taken to hospital with alcohol poisoning.
Most underage drinking occurred at private parties, which police only attended if they got out of hand.
Medics would have a better idea of how many children were being treated for alcohol poisoning, Sgt Nicholson said.
The information could not be obtained yesterday from Wanaka's two medical practices or St John staff.
Sgt Nicholson said alcohol was linked to 60% of annual offending in Wanaka and the population influx during the ski season caused a seasonal spike in crime.
However, underage drinking was a year-round issue. Adults socialised with alcohol so children thought they needed alcohol to socialise too, he said.
Wakatipu District Youth Trust member and former Queenstown youth worker Merv Aoake was concerned about youth access to alcohol and intoxication, but considered it no worse than in other regions and could happen at any time of the year.
"The snow season is not as big an influence as people think. It happens during the summer as well," he said.
He felt the council-imposed liquor ban helped curb drinking during events such as Queenstown's Winter Festival.
"The older members of the community should set good examples for young people. It's hard to cast stones when you are doing exactly the same thing," Mr Aoake said.
Kahu Youth Trust youth worker Kim Holmes would today call for the reformation of a Youth Access to Alcohol forum at a meeting of social services in Wanaka.
Kahu Youth had held a similar forum in the past, and another could help address the issues raised by last Saturday's incident, Ms Holmes said.
Adults needed to provide a safe environment for children and it was obvious it was time for the community "to get the ball rolling".
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