For immediate release

Wellington, Thursday July 30, 2009

Kiwi drinking culture needs a re-think

The Salvation Army welcomes the release of the Law Commission's discussion document on liquor reform and says New Zealanders must now muster the courage to make changes on how alcohol is sold and consumed.

Salvation Army spokesman Major Campbell Roberts says while it is clear a minority of drinkers are costing the country billions of dollars spent each year on alcohol-related crime and health and injury costs, all New Zealanders need to accept that major changes need to be made to our drinking culture.

'We know from first-hand experience that alcohol is not the benign harmless drug that the liquor industry would have people believe,' says Major Roberts.

'The 1989 reforms of liquor laws were based on arguments that New Zealanders were mature enough to have more liberal access to alcohol, and in hindsight that does not seem to have been entirely true. New Zealanders are drinking 10% more per capita than they were 10 years ago, and as many New Zealanders are drinking and driving as ever before.

'Young people often pick up their drinking habits from their families, so we really need to take stock of how we view and use alcohol in families as well as in the wider community,' says Major Roberts.

The Salvation Army backs the Law Commission's recommendations for tighter regulation of liquor sales, including reducing the hours when alcohol can be sold, and other measures to curb the harmful effects of drinking to excess.

Before the end of the year The Salvation Army plans to release a further report on alcohol use in New Zealand aimed at adding to the dialogue and re-examination of the place of liquor in New Zealand society.

'We therefore strongly welcome the initiative of the Law Commission in raising some fundamental and often unpopular questions around our drinking culture. We believe these questions are too important to be left to just MPs to debate and decide.'

Issues The Salvation Army wants to see addressed include the proliferation of neighbourhood liquor stores, TV advertising of liquor, the loss-leading selling antics of supermarkets, and the lack of effective enforcement of liquor sales to under-age youth.

A large and growing proportion of people contacting The Salvation Army for food aid, counselling, emergency accommodation and budget advice cite the drinking behaviours of a family member as an aggravating factor in the breakdown of family relationships and household budgets. The Salvation Army's Bridge Programme addiction treatment centres continue to see growing demand for their services.

Issued on the Authority of Commissioner Don Bell (Territorial Commander)
The Salvation Army, New Zealand Fiji &Tonga Territory

ENDS

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