Media Statement
Thursday, 5 March 2009
 

Hon Peter Dunne
MP for Ohariu
Leader of UnitedFuture

 
Dunne: Six month bans and $25,000 fines for under-age liquor sales

It’s time to consider raising the penalties for those who sell alcohol to minors to a level where they simply wouldn’t dare, UnitedFuture leader Peter Dunne said today in suggesting six-month suspensions of liquor licences and fines of up to $25,000 for rogue outlets.

Mr Dunne said he was appalled by revelations this week on the Target consumer television programme of a 10-year-old being allowed to buy alcohol at a Christchurch outlet. Other recent undercover sting operations by police and a Sunday newspaper also had stores agreeing to sell alcohol to 13, 15 and 17 year olds.

Currently the penalties for an alcohol outlet stand at a fine of up to $10,000 and suspension of their liquor licence for up to seven days, or both.

“Clearly, as this programme, demonstrated there are operators out there with no social conscience, and equally clearly, they are not deterred by the current penalties.

“There is a simple answer: raise the penalties to a level that even the most stupid of them get the message: you sell liquor to our young at your peril.

“I think it’s time we really got tough on this. Most alcohol outlets are responsible operators, but those who aren’t need to be dealt with very firmly,” Mr Dunne said.

He said the breaches highlighted by the programme were all the more serious when taken in the context with New Zealand’s problematic youth drinking culture.

“When we need to address our drinking as a nation, and particularly binge drinking, we can’t allow anyone to be supplying booze to 10-year-olds and underage teenagers.

“We need to enforce current laws and make the penalties real penalties,” Mr Dunne said.

ENDS
 

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