Multiple Breaches Of Tauranga Liquor Store Sales To Underage Teenagers
The most recent controlled purchase operation conducted by the Tauranga City Council Alcohol Licensing Team and a Tauranga Police Alcohol Harm Prevention Co-ordinator has revealed serious breaches of the Sale and Supply of Alcohol Act.
Forty-six off-license premises were visited on Saturday 9 August under the supervision of police and Alcohol Licensing Inspectors.
Tauranga City Council Alcohol Licensing Team Leader Sam Kemp says alarmingly, eight of these establishments sold alcohol without verifying the purchaser's age or requesting any form of identification.
'When questioned by Alcohol Licensing Inspectors, the duty managers admitted they had not verified the minor's age or in some cases not requested appropriate identification and instead, they completed the sale and allowed the purchase to proceed,' Sam says.
This latest operation follows a similar one conducted in March of this year, during which eight licensed premises also failed to comply.
'The continued non-compliance highlights serious shortcomings in the in-store training and policies of some premises. Selling alcohol to minors is a serious offence, and we will continue to take firm action to ensure public safety and uphold the law,' Sam says.
As a result, Tauranga Alcohol Licensing Inspectors and Police will be submitting suspension applications to the Alcohol Regulatory and Licensing Authority. These applications will target both the duty managers who were on duty at the time of the breaches and the off-licences of the non-compliant premises
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NZ Herald
3 days ago
- NZ Herald
Tauranga crackdown: Stores sell alcohol to minors
Council alcohol licensing team leader Sam Kemp said alarmingly, eight establishments sold alcohol without verifying the buyer's age or requesting any form of identification. 'When questioned by alcohol licensing inspectors, the duty managers admitted they had not verified the minor's age or, in some cases, not requested appropriate identification and, instead, they completed the sale and allowed the purchase to proceed,' Kemp said. This latest operation followed a sting in March that also caught eight licensed premises. 'The continued non-compliance highlights serious shortcomings in the in-store training and policies of some premises,' Kemp said. The council would continue to take 'firm action' to ensure public safety and uphold the law. Kemp said Tauranga alcohol licensing inspectors and police would be submitting suspension applications to the Alcohol Regulatory and Licensing Authority. These applications would target the duty managers at the time of the breaches and the off-licenses of the non-compliant premises. The council declined to name the premises as it worked through the process. According to authority decisions, all eight premises caught out in the March operation went on to lose their right to sell liquor for 48 hours. They were Liquorland CBD Tauranga, Bottle Craft Te Puna, Avenue Liquor Centre, Papamoa Liquor Centre, Mount Boutique Liquor, Papamoa Beach Liquor Centre, Super Liquor Te Puke and Harties Liquor Store. Most also had a duty manager's certificate suspended for 28 days. In a decision posted yesterday, BottleZone Papamoa East had its off-license suspended for 48 hours after selling to a minor in a separate incident. Police investigating an assault by two youths, aged 16 and 17, on an elderly man discovered one of the youths had bought alcohol from the store. The duty manager involved confirmed this. The decision said that person no longer worked in the industry. In March the Welcome Bay Sports Bar and Grill and attached bottle store lost their liquor licenses because of Sale and Supply of Alcohol Act breaches.
Scoop
4 days ago
- Scoop
Multiple Breaches Of Tauranga Liquor Store Sales To Underage Teenagers
A prominent supermarket, bottle shops and grocery stores were among eight Tauranga off-license premises found to be selling alcohol to underage teenagers aged between 15 and 17 years. The most recent controlled purchase operation conducted by the Tauranga City Council Alcohol Licensing Team and a Tauranga Police Alcohol Harm Prevention Co-ordinator has revealed serious breaches of the Sale and Supply of Alcohol Act. Forty-six off-license premises were visited on Saturday 9 August under the supervision of police and Alcohol Licensing Inspectors. Tauranga City Council Alcohol Licensing Team Leader Sam Kemp says alarmingly, eight of these establishments sold alcohol without verifying the purchaser's age or requesting any form of identification. 'When questioned by Alcohol Licensing Inspectors, the duty managers admitted they had not verified the minor's age or in some cases not requested appropriate identification and instead, they completed the sale and allowed the purchase to proceed,' Sam says. This latest operation follows a similar one conducted in March of this year, during which eight licensed premises also failed to comply. 'The continued non-compliance highlights serious shortcomings in the in-store training and policies of some premises. Selling alcohol to minors is a serious offence, and we will continue to take firm action to ensure public safety and uphold the law,' Sam says. As a result, Tauranga Alcohol Licensing Inspectors and Police will be submitting suspension applications to the Alcohol Regulatory and Licensing Authority. These applications will target both the duty managers who were on duty at the time of the breaches and the off-licences of the non-compliant premises
Otago Daily Times
05-08-2025
- Otago Daily Times
Leak suggests minister's U-turn on alcohol sales reform
By Guyon Espiner of RNZ A leaked Cabinet paper shows the government was planning to restrict the hours bottle stores and supermarkets could sell alcohol but then backed away to focus on reforms more friendly to the alcohol industry. The Associate Justice Minister - ACT's Nicole McKee - is reforming the Sale and Supply of Alcohol Act and had said that part of her focus would be reducing alcohol harm, which currently costs the country $9.1 billion a year. But documents leaked to RNZ, including a draft Cabinet paper, suggest the minister is now switching the focus of her reforms to making business easier for the alcohol industry. The documents show McKee initially proposed to change off-licence sale hours, from the current 7am to 11pm, to only allow alcohol sales between 9am and 9pm. The draft Cabinet paper says restricting opening hours could have had a major impact on violent crime - preventing 2400 "violent victimisations" each year. But that move has now been axed. A Ministry of Justice email, also leaked to RNZ, shows justice officials "were directed by Minister McKee to proceed with speed to lodge a revised Cabinet paper" to go before a Cabinet committee on August 13. "The focus of the paper had changed during negotiations - it is now on reducing regulatory burden with some of the harm reduction measures no longer included - e.g. reducing maximum default trading hours." McKee told RNZ it was regrettable her draft Cabinet paper was leaked. "I won't be discussing a few cherry-picked parts of a draft paper through the media before I've even had an opportunity to discuss the issue with my Cabinet colleagues," she said in a statement to RNZ. "I am extremely disappointed that a draft Cabinet paper has been shared with media. This undermines the integrity of the public service and erodes New Zealanders' trust in public servants." 'Strong correlation' between off-licence opening hours and violent crime The leaks show that in an early version of her Cabinet paper, McKee proposed to restrict bottle store opening hours to between 9am and 9pm in a bid to reduce violent crime. "I am focused on hazardous drinking which can lead to violent crime. Evidence shows a strong correlation between later opening hours for off-licences and violent crime," the Cabinet paper originally said. "Ministry of Justice analysis indicates that bringing forward the closing hour to 9pm could see up to 2400 fewer violent victimisations annually." The paper said restricting opening hours would reduce sales revenue for off-licences, as about 20 percent of sales were made between 8pm and 11pm and about 2 percent before 9am. The paper originally said the impacts on business had been "weighed carefully" against the benefits of reducing violent crime. But the leaks show this was changed in a later version. "I am not proposing any changes to the maximum trading hours for licence holders," McKee wrote in the updated paper, noting Auckland and Christchurch had already set a 9pm closing time under their Local Alcohol Policies. "I consider that this is sufficient to manage concerns around licence hours." Focus now on 'reducing red tape' for law-abiding businesses McKee would not be interviewed by RNZ, but confirmed her reforms would now focus on making it easier for businesses in the alcohol industry. "My focus is on reducing red tape restricting businesses and New Zealanders who play by the rules. The law Labour left us with is a mess," she said. The draft Cabinet paper obtained by RNZ shows McKee is now proposing to make it easier for clubs and bars to serve alcohol outside normal trading hours when screening major sport or cultural events. McKee's Cabinet paper also proposes giving the alcohol industry more power when faced with objections to liquor licences. The paper says changes in 2023 allowed any person or group to oppose a liquor licence but that McKee wants to overturn this so objections only come from the community impacted. "To better balance community voice and impacts on business I seek agreement to only allow objections to licensing applications by people or groups and organisations in the same territorial authority as the premises." There are also moves to protect businesses impacted by changes to a council's Local Alcohol Policy (LAP) - where communities determine when and how alcohol is sold. "To protect existing businesses if a LAP is adopted or amended I also seek agreement to prevent a DLC (District Licensing Committee) from declining a renewal application if the licence would be inconsistent with the relevant LAP." The changes would also give applicants for a liquor licence a right of reply to objections received in DLC hearings. Andrew Galloway, executive director of Alcohol Healthwatch, funded by the Ministry of Health, said reducing trading hours for bottle stores and supermarkets would have had a major impact on reducing alcohol harm. "Off-licences sell over 80 percent of alcohol in Aotearoa and these off-licences are over-concentrated in the most deprived areas. Restricting off-licence supply of alcohol would be especially important in reducing alcohol-related harm." Galloway said that when he became aware the government was looking at restricting off-licence trading hours he said to his team "we should prepare for a U-turn" once industry lobbying swung into action. "We will continue to miss every meaningful opportunity to reduce or prevent alcohol harm in New Zealand if we continue to allow unbridled access to power for harmful commodity industries."
