NZABC support the proposed changes to the Sale & Supply of Alcohol Act announced by the Government to reform regulations.
The NZ Alcohol Beverages Council (NZABC) welcomes the release of the proposed changes to the Sale & Supply of Alcohol Act 2012 (SSAA) aimed at reforming alcohol regulations.
“The proposed amendments signal a practical attempt to rebalance how local communities can have a voice during the licensing process while supporting responsible licence-holders’ right to trade”, said NZABC Executive Director Virginia Nicholls.
The NZABC has welcomed the additional safeguards around home delivery and online trading and hoped the amendments to the Act mean the same licensing requirements that apply to in-store alcohol sale and supply, will also apply to online purchase and delivery.
While traditional alcohol sales are tightly regulated in terms of hours, location, and oversight, online sellers can currently arrange deliveries at any time of the day, including outside their licensed operating hours.
The NZABC also support any improvements to point of purchase age verification that make it more straightforward for on and off-licenses to determine proof of age.
Nicholls said the NZABC was also in favour of the proposed changes that provide a wider range of zero and/or low alcohol beverages. Currently, there is only a mandatory requirement on on-licenses to hold low-alcohol products, which can restrict consumer demand for zero-alcohol products.
“This supports the flexibility to provide low-alcohol and/or zero products to meet changing customer demand and gives consumers more clarity about the products they’re buying.”
There are other matters announced today that will take some time to digest, and the NZABC looked forward to the opportunity to learn more of the details behind proposals once the Bill is tabled in the House.
Since 2010, the number of on and off-licences nationwide have declined by more than 13 percent.
Its also important to remember that more New Zealanders are drinking in moderation.
The annual NZ Health survey provides information on New Zealanders’ health and wellbeing shows that 83.4 percent of NZ adults (five out of six of us) are drinking beer, wine and spirits responsibly. This is an increase of 4.7 percentage points over the past four years (78.7 percent in 2019/20).
Hazardous drinking or harmful alcohol consumption among adults over the past four years has declined to 16.6 percent (21.3 percent 2019/20).
The Stats NZ alcohol consumption per capita has also declined by 32 percent since 1984.
"The majority of these changes focus on what actually makes a difference, having great operators who are backed by solid policies and strong ties to the community.”
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