Proposed Alcohol Control Bylaw

Alcohol Control Bylaw 2023 adopted

Submissions on the draft Alcohol Control Bylaw 2023 closed on 4 August, with hearings held on 14 September 2023. Thank you for all of the feedback received.

The new Alcohol Control Bylaw 2023 came into force on 16 October 2023.

Alcohol ban areas

Introduction

Taupō District Council has an existing Alcohol Control Bylaw to help reduce crime and disorder related to alcohol consumption. The bylaw provides alcohol controls in public places which prohibits the consumption and possession of alcohol in specified restricted public places. The bylaw does not impact licensed premises. We are reviewing our Alcohol Control Bylaw and have proposed some changes. These proposed changes, as well as information on how you can give us feedback, are set out below.

About the bylaw

Bylaws are enacted under the Local Government Act 2002 which requires that all bylaws be reviewed five years after the day when first enacted and then every 10 years after that. If a bylaw is not reviewed within the required timeline, it is then revoked two years after the review due date and is no longer applicable.

We have started a review of our Alcohol Control Bylaw because it was first enacted on 30 June 2018 and is due for review. Our initial review has raised only one issue that has led us to propose a change to this bylaw.

The bylaw works well in its current form but we know there are some challenges our communities face that we would like to address. To help address these challenges we are proposing a number of expansions to existing areas and a new ban area around the Paetiki Shopping Centre.

This statement of proposal has been prepared in accordance with the requirements set out in section 83 of the Local Government Act 2002.

Council’s Proposal

Appropriateness of the Bylaw

Communities need to be able to limit the spaces where alcohol can be consumed to provide safe public places for all within the district. An Alcohol Control Bylaw helps police manage and reduce instances of crime and disorder related to alcohol consumption within the district. While safety is important, restrictions need to be balanced with people’s rights and freedom.

Council has considered the proposed Alcohol Control Bylaw included with this Statement of Proposal and has determined that:

A bylaw is the most appropriate way of limiting crime and disorder related to alcohol consumption within the district,
The proposed bylaw is the most appropriate form of bylaw for the purposes of consultation, and
It is acknowledged that the proposed bylaw may have implications under the New Zealand Bill of Rights Act 1990, however Council has determined that any potential infringement of these rights is justified in managing the safety and wellbeing of those within the district.

Purpose of the bylaw

The bylaw aims to reduce the crime or disorder related to alcohol consumption by controlling where and when people can possess or consume alcohol in public places. While liquor bans don’t necessarily solve every alcohol related issue, they are another tool that local police can use to help manage the effects of drinking. This bylaw is made under the authority of the Local Government Act 2002 and applies to any public places within the district of Taupō District Council as per the associated maps.

The proposed bylaw changes

Expansion of Taupō Town alcohol control area to Tītīraupenga Street and adjoining areas, as shown in figure below.

Expansion of Taupō Town alcohol control area

Expansion of Taupō Town alcohol control area to Tītīraupenga Street and adjoining areas, as shown in figure below.

Taupō area police have requested an expansion of the alcohol control area to include Tītīraupenga Street because they have seen increased disorder partly due to excessive alcohol drinking in the carparks adjoining this street.

The police reported 145 alcohol related issues in this street and adjoining areas in the last year, of which 44 were criminal offences. Police have not highlighted this level of offending in other nearby areas.

About half of these offences were traffic-related (i.e. drunk driving) and the other half were related to disorderly behaviour, violent behaviour, drug use, and sexual offending.

Given the level of offending in this street and adjoining areas, TDC officers support the request made by Taupō District police to expand the alcohol control area to Tītīraupenga Street.

Lakefront between Hawai Street and 2 Mile Bay Boat Ramp

Connecting lakefront New Year ban area between Hawai Street and the 2 Mile Bay Boat Ramp

This area creates inconsistency with the existing New Year ban area. While the 2 mile bay sailing club operate a licensed premise on the site there are bits of the land nearby that are publicly accessible which creates inconsistency with the rest of the lakefront new year ban area.

Note: Liquor bans do not prevent licensed premises from operating.

Lakefront between Hawai Street and the 2 Mile Bay Boat Ramp

Kinloch New Year ban expansion

Kinloch has experienced significant challenges over the new year period due to large numbers of young people turning up for the last two years.

Police and the Community have provided significant evidence of the issues caused by people over the new year period. This behaviour has been somewhat localised around a few key areas and as such Council is proposing to expand the New Year ban area in Kinloch to cover these hotspots.

Paetiki Shopping Centre Ban Area

Council has received feedback to suggest that there have been some issues with alcohol consumption outside of the Paetiki Shopping Centre Area this consumption has led to instances of anti-social behaviour.

This proposed area would be subject to the Taupō Town Centre Ban timeframes from Thursday 4pm to Monday 7am.