One school says Tasman District Council’s draft alcohol policy is a “good” start but wants protections to go further.
The council is currently consulting on its Local Alcohol Policy (LAP) which introduces a new presumption against new bottle stores within 100 metres of a school.
The presumption does not explicitly ban bottle stores within 100 metres of a school but would require any future applicants to provide a compelling reason to outweigh the default position.
Producer-based premises, like tap rooms or cellar doors, and speciality or boutique alcohol retailers are not considered bottle stores under the draft policy.
A 2022 application would have seen a new bottle store opened across the road from Māpua School, within 80 metres of school grounds.
The application saw widespread community backlash, attracting 88 objections, before it was rejected by the District Licencing Committee in 2023 after a multi-day hearing.
Deputy mayor Brent Maru chaired the application hearing.
“If that sort of indication had been in our last LAP, it would have saved a 4-day hearing in Māpua and several thousands of dollars,” he said when the council agreed to consult on the revised policy.
Māpua School’s presiding member, Virginia Fay, remembers being “completely against” the 2022 bottle store proposal.
She said it was “good” to see some regulation proposed but thought the 100-metre distance was an “absolute minimum”.
“Putting an alcohol store 101 metres away from the school – it’s not achieving really anything, is it? Putting a distance is fruitless. We need to be thinking about our kids and what they’re exposed to,” she said.
“There needs to be some serious talk about how alcohol advertising and liquor stores should not be anywhere near schools.”
Fay raised the low-speed zones surrounding schools as a potential area for where new bottle shops should be prohibited.
“It’s just not something that you want next to a school.”
Each application needed to be assessed separately, highlighting urban and rural differences, and with appropriate weight given to community perspectives, she added.
“I would be surprised if any community or school wanted something close to where their kids are taught.”
Personally, Fay thought that society should seek to shelter children from being “bombarded” with advertising for potentially harmful products, such as social media, vapes, and alcohol.
“We bring our kids up to understand what alcohol is, and obviously they are aware of it, but in this country, it’s a hugely damaging substance, and I think we need to protect our kids and our communities from it.”
In addition to the 100-metre presumption, the draft local alcohol policy includes restricting use of ‘buy now, pay later’ schemes as a possible discretionary condition that could be imposed on a licence applicant.
The council was also asking residents what they thought about alternative off-licence trading hours, with 7am–9pm and 9am–9pm alternatives raised, as opposed to Tasman’s current 7am–10pm limits.
Residents can have their say at www.shape.tasman.govt.nz/local-alcohol-policy-review.
Consultation closes on 26 July.
