15 November 2013

Waikato District Council appoints members to new district licensing committee

Five people have been approved as list members of a new committee to be responsible for considering all alcohol licence applications in the Waikato District Council.

Council met earlier this week and approved the appointments to the District Licensing Committee, which will make decisions on how alcohol is sold and supplied in the district.

The committee is a new requirement as part of the Sale and Supply of Alcohol Act 2012, which was passed on 18 December 2012 replacing the Sale of Liquor Act 1989, and will take effect from 18 December 2013.

The five list members join Raglan Councillor Clint Baddeley who was appointed as Chair of the committee earlier this year.

Huntly Councillor Graeme Tait, who has experience with the current District Licensing Agency functions of Council and with Resource Consent application hearings, is one of the five list members and has been appointed as Deputy Chair.

Other members are:

· Sara Brown, who brings specialist skills and expertise in a hearing environment with 11 years experience running judicial hearings. Sara has worked as a Visiting Justice, Tenancy Tribunal Adjudicator and Referee of the Disputes Tribunal and has been admitted as a barrister and solicitor of the High Court.

· Ross Murphy, who is experienced in alcohol licensing, having worked with the Ministry of Justice and as a clerk of the District Licensing Committee when alcohol licensing was administered in the Ministry. Ross has operated a liquor training and consultancy business since 1990 and has developed bar manager courses and authored a guide to the Sale of Liquor Act and Host Responsibility utilised nationally by trainers.

· Patsi Davies, who has specialist skills in alcohol related harm and a hearing environment, is a qualified lawyer and has worked as a drug and alcohol counsellor. She is currently a lecturer at Auckland University of Technology and is the Programme Leader Health Promotion.

· And Brett McEwan, a researcher who has several publications related to New Zealand’s alcohol culture and is the Chair of the University of Waikato Alcohol Watch Committee, monitoring student drinking behaviour and working with police and licensing professionals.

Waikato District Council General Manager Customer Support Sue Duignan says the level of applicants was of a high standard and the members are well qualified for the task ahead.

“They have an important role to play in our communities and I am confident we have appointed the best mix of experience, skill and expertise.

“They are six very skilled individuals, and together they bring knowledge and experience of alcohol licensing, alcohol related harm and judicial processes.”

The list members, who are approved for a period of five years, will undergo training with Local Government New Zealand in early December.

ENDS

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