Raising the purchasing age to 20 - Urgent Action Required

The latest issue of ServiceLine details the changes proposed in the Sale of Liquor (Youth Alcohol Harm Reduction) Amendment Bill which will raise the purchase age for alcohol from 18 to 20. It is likely that the second reading will occur this week on 8 November, with the committee stages being processed on either 22 November and/or 13 December. The third reading which would pass the legislation to law, is likely to will occur early 2007.

If passed in its current form, the bill will have the immediate impact of making it illegal for 18 & 19 year-olds to purchase alcohol.

The Association is actively lobbying against this bill at a national level but seeks your assistance and makes the following suggestions:

• Those members with regular 18 & 19 year-old customers should invite their local electorate and list Members of Parliament to come into the bar to meet with those 18 & 19 year-old patrons.

• Members themselves to go and meet with their Members of Parliament in their electorate offices.

• Write or email their concerns to the Members of Parliament.

• Write letters to the editor.

• Ring up talk-back radio.

To assist with these suggestions, the following are the key messages. It is suggested you choose some of these for discussion with Members of Parliament and the public.

• This is bad legislation and it won’t work.

• Raising the purchase age from 18 to 20 does not change the fact that a person under the aged of 20 will continue to be able to consume legally as much alcohol as they wish.

• One of the major concerns of the proposed legislation is that it will result in more alcohol consumption by young people in private uncontrolled settings. There will be thousands of 18 and 19 year olds who undertake tertiary study in locations away from their parents who will continue to drink alcohol in flats and other private settings with potentially disastrous effects on society as well as the existing problem of public place drinking by minors in hospitality precincts being exacerbated. The move to continue to allow alcohol to be supplied in a private setting by people over 20 who are not parents, former guardians, spouses or civil union partners sends a confusing message and this will not contribute at all to reducing the indicators of harm that are causing concern.

• With an estimated 87% of alcohol consumed by those under the age of 18 getting it from parents, siblings and other adults, it can be expected that the majority of those under the age of 20 will continue to consume legally as much alcohol as they choose.

• The bill creates a new definition called “former guardian”. The Care of Children Act extinguishes the concept of guardianship at 18 surely based on the assumption those 18 and older don’t require a guardian as they’re old enough to make their own decisions. The creation of a “former guardian” category under the Sale of Liquor Act is cumbersome and difficult to apply.

• This raises the question of how industry will deal with this in a practical sense – ask to sight the 18/19 year-old’s birth/marriage/civil union certificate and then photo ID from both child and parent/former guardian/spouse/partner? Clearly this will be very difficult for all parties, is arguably absolutely unworkable, and unreasonable.

• The harm statistics do not show any clear correlation between the normalising of the age of purchase at 18 in 1999 and increased harm to young people. The Ministry of Justice in four reports since 1999 have concluded there is no clear picture on whether lowering the minimum purchase age has had a detrimental impact on young people’s drinking behaviour.

• No recognition has been given to the impact that putting beer into supermarkets and the aggressive pricing by supermarkets on beer and wine has had on the availability of alcohol to young people and the consequent shift in consumption patterns of alcohol to be consumed away from licensed and supervised premises.

• This legislation is seriously at odds with Parliament’s other decisions that at the age of 18 an individual can and should take responsibility for their own actions, whether it be to smoke, to gamble, enter into a civil union or marriage, have children, or indeed engage in prostitution.

• The vast majority of countries around the world have a purchase age at 18 or less.

• Raising the age is likely to have a negative impact on tourism with an estimated 50,000 tourists to New Zealand each year aged between 18 & 20, most on a gap year or undertaking their overseas experience, and many also work in hospitality/tourism while they are here.

A list of Members of Parliament, by HANZ regions, along with their electorate contact details, is available here. For further information or assistance, please contact your Regional Manager on 0800 500 503.

Bruce H Robertson
Chief Executive
Hospitality Association of NZ