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Are chartered clubs beyond their use by date? This is a question which the Law Commission should seriously consider. There are currently 34 chartered clubs operating in New Zealand. These charters were established over 100 years ago and those with a charter do not operate under the constraints of the Sale of Liquor Act.
The Liquor Licensing Authority do not have the ability to suspend or close a chartered club which may be operating inappropriately, and neither are chartered clubs able to be penalised for blatantly trading with the public, rather than just their own members.
With the high level of scrutiny applied to all other alcohol retailers, chartered clubs are simply out of step and it’s time they were brought into line with other operators.
I can hear club traditionalists talking about heritage, tradition and history. Requiring chartered clubs to operate under the same rules as any other club does not remove that tradition, but it does require adherence to today’s laws. If chartered clubs were simply quietly trading with their traditional members, this might not be such a big issue. However there are reports that increasingly chartered clubs are looking to expand their business and trade with the public through promoting themselves as function venues and in at least one instance, running male and female strip revues on alternate nights. Hardly the sort of business envisaged when the charters were first issued.
If chartered clubs, or any clubs for that matter, want to be in the business of serving the public then they must operate under the same rules.
Bruce H Robertson
Chief Executive
Hospitality Association of NZ
5 Feburuary 2009 |
