Bottle Shops Caught Selling Alcohol To Minors
Eleven bottle shops and stores across Auckland have been caught selling booze to under-18s in the past year.Eleven bottle shops and stores across Auckland have been caught selling booze to under-18s in the past year.
Black Bull Northcote, Simply Fresh in Hillcrest, Glengarry Ellerslie, Brew Royal Oak, Bottle O Mount Smart, Grand Food Mart in Orewa, Kowhai Liquor Centre at Warkworth, Wine and Spirits in Flat Bush, Forrest Hill Liquor Centre, Favona Liquor Wholesale and Unsworth Liquor – had their licences to sell alcohol suspended briefly for breaching the Sale and Supply of Alcohol Act 2012.
The stores were caught during several controlled purchase operations conducted by Auckland Council's Alcohol Licensing Unit, police and the Auckland Regional Public Health Service, from last May to date.
Auckland Council manager of licensing and environmental health Mervyn Chetty said there were clear expectations that anyone granted an alcohol licence will follow the rules.
'Selling alcohol to a minor is against the law,' Chetty said.
'It puts young people at serious risk of alcohol related harm including injuries and accidents.'
Glengarry Ellerslie, Brew Royal Oak, Kowhai Liquor Centre, Black Bull Northcote, Wine and Spirits, Forrest Hill Liquor Centre, Favona Liquor Wholesale and Unsworth Liquor were suspended for 48 hours.
Bottle O Mt Smart was suspended for 72 hours in March, while Simply Fresh in Hillcrest and Grand Food Mart in Orewa were handed seven day suspensions in April and January respectively.
Another off-licence, Good to Go in the central district, was suspended for 21 days for a series of breaches.
The store had no manager on duty, failed to give notice of manager appointments, had unauthorised sale, and sold RTDs at a grocery.
The suspensions have all been completed, Chetty said.
Controlled purchase operations are conducted to test compliance with laws against selling alcohol to minors.
'As all licence holders will know, suspensions are put in place for first-time offenders, however repeat offences may carry greater penalties which are set out in the Sale and Supply of Alcohol Act,' Chetty said.
'Every alcohol licence comes with rules and conditions to support the sale and supply of alcohol in a safe and responsible manner, which will help reduce alcohol related harm.'
The suspensions were handed out by the Alcohol Regulatory and Licensing Authority (ARLA).
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The Spinoff
a day ago
- The Spinoff
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Or more pragmatically, which will land you in more trouble? Emma Gleason finds out. For The Golden Mile's bars battling through decline, revitalisation and those fearsome Courtenay Place gulls, getting punters in the door in the first place can be a hurdle. You're competing with every other watering hole in the neighbourhood, trendy green beverages, pigeon poo, and the grim fact that some people would rather stay home and watch TikToks. What's a proprietor to do? In the case of The Residence Bar, a blackboard chalked up with jaunty martini glasses and a two-for-one happy hour offer seemed to be a good idea – until it wasn't. Owner Jose Ubiaga scrubbed it off after an email from the Wellington City Council, but six months later, it landed him in front of the Alcohol Regulatory and Licensing Authority for the 'irresponsible promotion of alcohol'. 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2 days ago
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Dunedin bar's Christmas cheer brings a 48-hour booze ban
Such inducements are illegal under section 237 of the Sale and Supply of Alcohol Act 2012, which prohibits the irresponsible promotion of alcohol. In its written decision, the authority said: 'The posts contained promotions to be in to win a lawnmower (the November promotion) and a premium ham (the December promotion) with the purchase of specified types of alcohol in breach of s 237(1)(e) of the Act.' The authority noted that SPS Hospitality Group Ltd, which holds the licence for the premises, did not contest the police application for suspension. 'The respondent does not dispute the grounds of the application and it does not oppose the suspension of the on-licence,' the decision read. Inspector Ian Paulin, national manager of Alcohol Harm Prevention, said police filed that there had been an increase in breaches of this section being taken from around the motu to the ARLA following some informative case law from November 2023, where ARLA confirmed that promotions on social media or the internet were 'outside' the licensed premises. He clarified that Section 237 permits promotions inside the licensed premises. 'Promotions in this section mean discounting alcohol by more than 25%, or a 'buy alcohol and go into the draw for a prize' type of promotion,' he said. While the breach was treated seriously, the authority accepted it was a first offence and opted for a relatively light penalty. 'We consider that a 48-hour suspension is appropriate for a first offence by this licensee for this offence,' it said. The suspension will also be recorded as a 'negative holding' under the act. If the venue accrues three such holdings within a three-year period, it may face a licence cancellation hearing. 'This order is deemed to be a negative holding,' ARLA chairman Judge Robert Spear wrote. 'If the licence has not already been cancelled, three negative holdings incurred within a three-year period will result in an application to the authority for cancellation of the licence.' The decision was released on July 22 with the suspension to take effect in early September. Ben Tomsett is a multimedia journalist based in Dunedin. He joined the Herald in 2023.
