Community Control and Liquor Licensing: A Public Health Issue in New Zealand

Abstract

Community interest in controlling the sale and supply of alcohol and reducing alcohol-related problems has seen a number of responses in New Zealand and elsewhere. These have included the growth of popular temperance movements last century, sometimes accompanied by votes for national or local prohibition. In some regions in New Zealand the local population instituted community-owned licensing trusts to operate licensed premises upon restoring alcohol sales to their districts. Government reviews of licensing law have responded to public dissatisfaction with drinking conditions. A recent substantial review of the sale of liquor in the late 1980s revived public interest in the control of alcohol. Submissions from a public health perspective concentrated on restricting access. The final legislation, however, saw a liberalising of availability and deregulation of the licensing system. Nevertheless, emphasis is given to the control of alcohol-related problems, highlighted in the object of the act. The response of licensing and enforcement agencies to that objective will have important implications for the control of problems in the community.