Green light to consult on local alcohol policy

Published on 19 February 2025

Whanganui District Council’s elected representatives have given the green light to consulting the community on proposed changes to Whanganui’s local alcohol policy from Monday, 24 February.

The council’s policy manager, Elise Broadbent, says the policy, which is up for its six-yearly review, aims to minimise the risk of alcohol-related harm in our community.

“Many people consume alcohol responsibly but, as we all know, alcohol can lead to negative social outcomes including long-term health conditions, foetal alcohol spectrum disorder, family violence, crime, and road accidents,” Elise Broadbent says.

The District Licensing Committee – which operates independently of the council – refers to the local alcohol policy when making decisions on applications for alcohol licences.

One important proposed change relates to the cap or limit on ‘off-licences’ (such as bottle stores, supermarkets and grocery stores).

The current Local Alcohol Policy sets a cap of 14 off-licences in the district, with supermarkets and grocery stores exempt. It’s proposed we keep a cap for bottle stores but remove the overall cap, with a risk framework introduced instead for other licences (such as supermarkets, breweries and distilleries).

Elise Broadbent says when granting licences the District Licensing Committee already assesses each applicant on a case-by-case basis, and has granted licences over the cap, so the new risk assessment framework would fit with their approach and give them risk-based criteria when they are considering applications.

The current restriction on opening within 100m of sensitive sites – such as early childhood centres, schools, marae, places of worship, alcohol treatment centres, and children's parks or playgrounds – would come under the new risk framework. Right now supermarkets and grocery stores are exempt from sensitive site restrictions but under the new framework, they would apply to these businesses as well.

For practicality, businesses already based near sensitive sites would be exempt.

As well as proximity to sensitive sites, the risk framework would include deprivation levels, proximity to other licensed venues, zoning under the District Plan, and risks associated with selling alcohol online.

Another proposed change is adjusting the timeframe when alcohol can be sold.

“This change is being suggested based on feedback from our recent community survey – responses showed a strong preference for venues not to be able to sell alcohol so early in the morning and a number of respondents, including local and national police and health organisations, suggested alternative opening hours.”

The community survey also showed the home is the most common place to drink, with 80 percent of alcohol consumption happening in the home.

Across the board, opening hours for licensed venues will be raised to 9am, limiting the impact of alcohol sales on younger people before school.

Under the proposed new policy, off-licences (such as bottle stores, supermarkets, and grocery stores) would be able to sell alcohol between 9am and 9pm, sports clubs and restaurants would be valid from 9am to midnight, and taverns, hotels, bars, pubs, and nightclubs would be able to sell alcohol between 9am and 2am the next day, as is currently the case.

On-licence premises (such as taverns, hotels, bars, pubs and nightclubs) would be allowed to operate from 9am to 2am, with a blanket time of midnight for the ‘one-way door’ policy. Currently businesses have a one-way door policy for one hour before their individual closing time.

“A one-way door policy means patrons can leave a premises but can’t enter after a certain time. Around the country one-way door policies are an effective tool for reducing the incidence of alcohol harm as it leads to people trickling out the door, rather than large numbers leaving all at once at closing time,” Elise Broadbent says.

Additional conditions are proposed to be introduced, such as prohibiting off-licences from offering single-unit sales for under $6, and a ban on using buy-now-pay-later schemes for alcohol purchases. Neither of these conditions are mandatory, but they may be imposed if the District Licensing Committee feels that a specific venue requires more direct management.

Finally, the policy makes it clearer that businesses selling alcohol online need to demonstrate they have appropriate measures in place to minimise alcohol-related harm, such as requiring identification at point-of-sale.

“These proposed changes reflect our commitment to ensuring a responsible alcohol environment in our community,” Elise Broadbent says.

“We encourage residents to have their say to help shape a local alcohol policy that best fits Whanganui – it only takes 10 minutes to put in a submission.”

Submissions are open for six weeks from Monday, 24 February – go to the Local Alcohol Policy page on the Have Your Say section of the Whanganui District Council website.