| Submission by
to the
on the
23 March 2007
Hospitality Association of New Zealand
Level 2, Radio Network House, Corner Abel Smith and Taranaki Streets
PO Box 503, Wellington
Phone: 04 385 1369
Fax: 04 384 8044
www.hanz.org.nz
The Hospitality Association of New Zealand (HANZ) is a voluntary trade association with over 2,300 members nationally. Members come from across the hospitality industry including:
· Hotels/Motels/Major Accommodation Providers/Lodges
· Taverns/Pubs/Bars/Night Clubs
· Restaurants/Cafes
· Off-Licences
The Hospitality Association of New Zealand and its members are actively engaged in endeavouring to comply with the legislative requirement that liquor is not sold to minors. The following is a summary of the range of initiatives being undertaken by the Association to assist its members and the wider hospitality industry to minimise the sale and supply of liquor to minors. The Association is happy to provide further information or additional copies of material should this be required.
1. Identification
1.1. HANZ 18+ Card
The Association manages the production and distribution of the HANZ 18+ card, one of the three Ministry of Justice approved evidence of age cards along with the photo driver licence and passport. Since 1999 over 80,000 cards have been distributed. The HANZ 18+ card has a large clear photo and is only available to persons over the age of 18 years which enhances its quality as an evidence of age card for the hospitality industry. Enhanced security features including holograms viewable only with the use of an ultra violet light contribute to protecting the authenticity of the HANZ 18+ card making it difficult to alter or falsify. The Association makes available to members and non-members posters and decals promoting “No Card, No Service”. Attached as Appendix 1 are copies of the poster, decal and application form.
1.2. Confiscated Fake and Fraudulently Used Cards
Members checking evidence of age cards regularly encounter and confiscate cards which have either been falsified or clearly don’t belong to the person presenting the card. The Association in partnership with NZ Police have developed and distributed forms to assist in providing a consistent approach to dealing with the confiscated cards nationwide, data collection related to the frequency of minors presenting false identification, and ultimately prosecutions. A copy of the form and ServiceLine article explaining this to HANZ members are attached as Appendix 2.
1.3. Liquor Infringement Offence Notice for Use of False Evidence of Age Card
While it is an offence to present a false evidence of age card the law around this makes it cumbersome for Police to take prosecutions and as a result relatively few are taken. The Association has previously made representations seeking that this offence be able to be dealt with by way of a Liquor Infringement Offence Notice in the same way that minors found on licensed premises can be. This would be a much clearer and stronger deterrent to minors using fake or someone else’s identification. The Association will continue to advocate for this change.
1.4. Guide to Checking Identification
The Association has produced a guide to check identification for use as a training tool for bar staff. This guide has been circulated to all members and is available as a resource to both members and non members on the HANZ website. When ALAC reviewed the General Manager’s Guide publication in 2006 they sought permission to include the guideline. This resource is also freely available to District Licensing Agencies and other organisations should they wish to distribute it to licensees in their area. A copy of the guide is attached as Appendix 3. The process of identification checking would be significantly enhanced if the integrity of the photo driver licence was improved with a larger photo and font size of the date of birth. The Association has previously advocated strongly for this change and will continue to do so.
2. Resources
2.1. Acknowledgement of Responsibility Under the Sale of Liquor Act
The Association has developed a form for employees of licensed premises to sign to ensure they are aware of their responsibilities under the Sale of Liquor Act not to supply or sell liquor to persons under the age of 18. A copy of this form is attached as Appendix 4. The Association has also included provisions within model employment agreements offered by the Association that make the failure to ask for identification a dismissible offence.
2.2. Internal Controlled Purchase Operations Resource for Members
The Association has recently developed a resource which enables licensees and managers to conduct an internal controlled purchase operation to test their employees’ commitment and performance when asking for identification. A copy of the resource is attached as Appendix 5.
2.3. Incident Report Book
To assist licensed premises in recording incidents related to the operation of the premises, including issues associated with minors, the Association has developed an Incident Report Book. The procedures recommended by the Association around the use of the Incident Report Book encourage a systematic management approach to a variety of issues and include documentation and appropriate follow up. A copy of the Incident Report Book is attached as Appendix 6.
2.4. Preventing Intoxication Guideline
Prior to Christmas 2006 the Association put together a guideline for managing intoxication and places of safety within licensed premises. This also includes a copy of the NZ Police/ALAC resource “Intoxication – What to watch for”. Copies of both resources are attached as Appendix 7.
2.5. Promotions Protocol
Following the introduction of section 154A of the Sale of Liquor Act in 1999 the Association initiated the development of a national protocol on liquor promotions in association with Local Government New Zealand, NZ Police and ALAC. This resource is promoted widely to both members and the industry and a copy is attached as Appendix 8.
2.6. Signage
The Association has developed a range of signs to meet the legal requirements of licensed premises and assist in the responsible management of premises. It has also developed in association with the Alcohol Advisory Council, a “No ID, No Service, No Exceptions” poster. A copy of this poster and other signs are attached as Appendix 9.
2.7. Legislative Guide
The Association worked in partnership with the Hospitality Standards Institute to develop a resource for the industry setting out all the legislative requirements that need to be met by the hospitality industry, including the sale and supply of liquor to minors. A copy of this guide is attached as Appendix 10.
3. Training
3.1. Door Staff Qualification
The Association requested that the Industry Training Organisation, the Hospitality Standards Institute, develop a door staff qualification to contribute to lifting and making consistent the performance of hospitality door staff. The Association worked in partnership with the Hospitality Standards Institute in the development of this qualification. A copy of the qualification is attached as Appendix 11. This qualification was registered on the NZQA Education framework last year.
3.2. HANZ Training Passport
In 2005 the Association initiated the HANZ Training Passport to make training for hospitality staff readily available in bite sized components at a regional level throughout New Zealand. The modules included units on Host Responsibility and the Licensed Controllers Qualification, both designed to ensure staff are aware of their responsibilities under the Sale of Liquor Act including the sale and supply of liquor to minors. The pilot was extremely successful with over 1,500 participants. The Minister of Tertiary Education and Deputy Prime Minister, the Hon Dr Michael Cullen, presented the first completed passport to the first graduate in March 2006.
Based on the success of the pilot, HANZ Training Passport will again run throughout 2007 with the new door staff qualification mentioned previously included in the programme. Attached as Appendix 12 are copies of the passport, promotional and launch material.
4. Regional Initiatives
The Association through its network of eight regional managers based throughout New Zealand is heavily involved in regional initiatives aimed at preventing the sale and supply of liquor to minors.
4.1. Liquor Liaison Groups
Wherever possible the Association is involved in Liquor Liaison Groups which are made up of representatives of all Government agencies and other stakeholders involved in the sale and supply of liquor. The benefits of communication between such organisations and industry and of a joint approach to issues around the sale and supply of liquor to minors are significant.
4.2. Accords
Many parts of New Zealand now have alcohol accords designed to reduce the harm related to alcohol consumption. The Association was an active participant in the first accord set up in Auckland’s viaduct basin and has consistently participated in accords where there has been a specific alcohol related harm issue to be addressed.
- Kaipara Alcohol Accord – Shoulder Tap Campaign
A specific example is the Kaipara Alcohol Accord. The Kaipara Alcohol Accord undertook an initiative late last year aiming to identify where the main issues surrounding the supply to minors were. This followed a meeting in which the industry voiced concerns that while authorities were concentrating on licensed premises with CPOs, the real issue was supply of liquor to minors by family and friends. The result was the “Shoulder Tap” campaign outlined below put together by Northland Regional Health with the Accord’s assistance.
- Shoulder Tap Campaign – Designed to identify sources of supply to minors. A three pronged approach:
- Workshop for liquor outlets – conducted by Police
- Staged activity – a minor standing outside off premise attempting to get a stranger to purchase for them
- Un-staged activity – observations outside and off premise
One of the conclusions of this campaign was that the greatest risk of youth access to alcohol was through family and friends.
The resulting action was a Christmas media campaign called “Is it worth it?” aimed at educating people on supplying to minors. This was fully supported by local licensees who had posters, badges and footpath stencils in and around their premises. The posters and flyers were provided by ALAC.
- Christchurch Central Business District Alcohol Accord
The aim of this accord is to target alcohol affected groups or individuals congregating or migrating in the Christchurch CBD resulting in negative outcomes including criminal and antisocial behaviour. An Accord Management Committee consisting of agency and industry representatives worked together to develop the accord which is attached along with the first Accord newsletter as Appendix 13. The main outcome of the Accord is a “One–Way-Door” which means no new patrons are admitted to premises or re-admitted to premises once they have left from 4am to 6am Thursday to Sunday. The results of this initiative to date are very positive.
4.3. Training Seminars for Industry
The Association in conjunctions with liquor liaison groups, Accords and Safer Community groups has delivered specific training to address issues identified in local communities. Door staff, host responsibility and customer service has been conducted in recent years in many locations through such partnership arrangements, including in Whangarei, Auckland, Tauranga, Kawerau, Rotorua, Napier, Hastings, New Plymouth, South Taranaki, Wanganui, Palmerston North, Wellington, Nelson, Dunedin, Queenstown and Invercargill.
4.4. “Think Before you Supply Under 18’s Drinks” Campaigns
A number of communities have initiated “Think” campaigns. These campaigns aim to encourage communities to think before they supply liquor to minors. Where these campaigns have occurred the Association has been an active partner in supporting the promotion and organisation of the campaigns.
4.5. Examples of Other Regional Initiatives
The Reduce Harm Group is run by Victoria University and consists of representatives of Regional Public Health (RPH), ALAC, ACC, Student Association, student union managers, student accommodation managers and the Hospitality Association. The main aim of these meetings, which occur approximately every two months, is to reduce alcohol harm to the students and increase safety with alcohol.
Secondly, the Association participated in Wellington Orientation meetings this year which involved both Massey and Victoria Universities along with the Police, RPH, ALAC, ACC and the District Licensing Agency. Again the main focus was on student safety and education around safe drinking. |
