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Proposed changes to drinks laws.

57 replies · 5,120 views
almost 16 years ago · edited over 13 years ago
Proposed changes to drinks laws.
Profile pic. Should you be interested. Lakhsen, on the right, lost touch with him.
Mohammed, on the left, I'm still in touch with. He's now living in Agadez, Niger. More focused on his animals now as tourism has dried up. Is active with a co-op promoting local goods, leather work and bijouterie, into Europe. 
20/5/20

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almost 16 years ago · edited over 13 years ago
http://www.lawcom.govt.nz/ProjectReport.aspx?ProjectID=154

  • Raise the drinking age?
  • Fine parents who don't look after their kinds when they are drinking?
  • Close bottle stores at 10pm?

  Chapter 5 - Regulating the sale and supply of alcohol.pdf  is an interesting read... dairyflat2010-04-27 17:51:02
Profile pic. Should you be interested. Lakhsen, on the right, lost touch with him.
Mohammed, on the left, I'm still in touch with. He's now living in Agadez, Niger. More focused on his animals now as tourism has dried up. Is active with a co-op promoting local goods, leather work and bijouterie, into Europe. 
20/5/20

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almost 16 years ago · edited over 13 years ago
dairyflat wrote:


  • Raise the drinking age?  YES
  • Fine parents who don't look after their kinds when they are drinking?  YES
  • Close bottle stores at 10pm?  DON'T KNOW
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almost 16 years ago · edited over 13 years ago
Wongo wrote:

dairyflat wrote:
  • Raise the drinking age?� no
  • Fine parents who don't look after their kinds when they are drinking?� YES
  • Close bottle stores at 10pm?� meh
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almost 16 years ago · edited over 13 years ago
chocnut wrote:
Wongo wrote:

dairyflat wrote:
  • Raise the drinking age?  no
  • Fine parents who don't look after their kinds when they are drinking?  YES
  • Close bottle stores at 10pm?  no

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almost 16 years ago · edited over 13 years ago
yes, no, no.
 
dont think these will help at all though, not sure what will though
 
i dont see how fining the parents will do anything
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almost 16 years ago · edited over 13 years ago
Raise the drinking age and people will still have ways of getting their alcohol.  Seems like an exercise in futility.

Having said that, if drink driving/violence etc went down then sweet.
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almost 16 years ago · edited over 13 years ago
Drinking age - no. You can vote, you can f**k, you can be a hooker, you can kill for your country, you can marry, but you can't drink? Get the f**k out of here!
Not sure about the parent thing (especially if age goes to 21) - how much control over older teen kids can we expect them to have.

Bottlos at 10? I'm ok with it, but could be a pain in the ass for some.

How about we try enforcing properly some of the laws we have. Heard on the radio today there have only been seven prosecutions for serving intoxicated patrons in the last three years!
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almost 16 years ago · edited over 13 years ago
loyalgunner wrote:
Raise the drinking age and people will still have ways of getting their alcohol.


Stupidest argument ever.
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almost 16 years ago · edited over 13 years ago
Well it's true and very relevant and simply changing the law won't address this problem.
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almost 16 years ago · edited over 13 years ago
loyalgunner wrote:
Well it's true and very relevant and simply changing the law won't address this problem.
 
Fully agree. When i was under age, the only reason i went to work on friday's was to get my work mate's to buy me alochol.
 
My mates all did the same thing
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almost 16 years ago · edited over 13 years ago
Bring back bzp... the replacement stuff is crap and there have been way more drunken kids dwn courtney place at 2-4am and way less happy bouncy soberish kids at dance parties since we all ran out
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almost 16 years ago · edited over 13 years ago
No. No. No.
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almost 16 years ago · edited over 13 years ago
loyalgunner wrote:
Raise the drinking age and people will still have ways of getting their alcohol.


Stupidest argument ever.
 
You never drank before you were 18 then?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qe_B5CzbTJo - Caceres winning penalty v Perth - footage from the Fever Zone

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almost 16 years ago · edited over 13 years ago
As long as the NaeNae bottlestore remains open, kids will be getting their alcohol. Fact.
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almost 16 years ago · edited over 13 years ago

loyalgunner wrote:
Raise the drinking age and people will still have ways of getting their alcohol.
Stupidest argument ever.


Stupidest comment ever from you more like...
Fake ID's, Older Siblings, Parents, Older friends. 5 ways everyone gets alcohol now and will continue too.
I think we need to change the view NZ has on drinking and drink driving but that's a very hard thing to do.
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almost 16 years ago · edited over 13 years ago
Steve-O wrote:
loyalgunner wrote:
Raise the drinking age and people will still have ways of getting their alcohol.


Stupidest argument ever.
 
You never drank before you were 18 then?


No, I did. That's exactly the point.

If the argument is "Oh well, they'll drink anyway, it won't stop them" then why have a drinking age at all? I mean, people drink under the age of 18 anyway, right?
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almost 16 years ago · edited over 13 years ago
Drinking age: PI** OFF I Turn 18 in two weeks.
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almost 16 years ago · edited over 13 years ago
chocnut wrote:

loyalgunner wrote:
Raise the drinking age and people will still have ways of getting their alcohol.
Stupidest argument ever.


Stupidest comment ever from you more like...
Fake ID's, Older Siblings, Parents, Older friends. 5 ways everyone gets alcohol now and will continue too..


I'm not saying people won't get it, I'm saying that using "They'll get it anyway" is a stupid argument for not putting the age up. If people getting it anyway is a reason to not make it illegal then why don't we drop the age altogether? I mean, 15 year old's are getting it anyway, right?

Note also, that I think it should stay at 18, but that doesn't change the fact that its a stupid argument.
Mr_Incredible2010-04-27 21:00:47
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almost 16 years ago · edited over 13 years ago
It's not a stupid argument as it's pointing out something that needs addressing more than what is currently being addressed.

How they address it I don't know, but that's not my job.
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almost 16 years ago · edited over 13 years ago
Hard News wrote:
Clarke has sold me.20 Now !!!


This.

We will never fully decide who has won the football.

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almost 16 years ago · edited over 13 years ago
chocnut wrote:

loyalgunner wrote:
Raise the drinking age and people will still have ways of getting their alcohol.
Stupidest argument ever.


Stupidest comment ever from you more like...
Fake ID's, Older Siblings, Parents, Older friends. 5 ways everyone gets alcohol now and will continue too..


I'm not saying people won't get it, I'm saying that using "They'll get it anyway" is a stupid argument for not putting the age up. If people getting it anyway is a reason to not make it illegal then why don't we drop the age altogether? I mean, 15 year old's are getting it anyway, right?

Note also, that I think it should stay at 18, but that doesn't change the fact that its a stupid argument.
 
It is a legitimate argument because the point of that argument is that it will be largely ineffective to change the drinking age so why bother wasting time and money doing it?
 
More populist nonsense from this National government without any real thought going into it.
 
And, considering you can get married and things at 16, having a drinking age of 20 is nonsense and reeks of Nanny Statism.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qe_B5CzbTJo - Caceres winning penalty v Perth - footage from the Fever Zone

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almost 16 years ago · edited over 13 years ago
The only one im against is no entering bars after 2am. But surely drinking is enough of a problem in NZ that its worth doing something 'radical' about it. Tegal2010-04-27 22:45:17

Allegedly

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almost 16 years ago · edited over 13 years ago
What if a football game starts after 2am and you don't have Sky TV?  Do you have to while away the hours in the bar earlier and wait for it to start or can you just show up and they don't care?

I know there was talk about this with regards to the first leg of the playoff vs Bahrain(?) but didn't see any answer to the question.
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almost 16 years ago · edited over 13 years ago
I know theyre already looking at making an exception to this rule for some areas during the RWC.
 
I dont like it because i work late...so this particular change will mean it wont really be worth going out  on a saturday night. Its a bit of a step too far to put a restriction on supervised bars. Liquor outlets yeah go for it. And i agree with the age going up too to be honest.

Allegedly

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almost 16 years ago · edited over 13 years ago
On the parent thing. Here's what I'd like to see sorted.

I was in a rural liquor shop and saw a mother, known to my friend, buying RTDs for her daughter. The daughter was fifteen and was planning to drink at her mate's place. A few hours later a local guy had to go and break up a fight in the middle of the only street in town. Daughter, boyfriend and and boyfriend's mate all having a go at each other. All three had drunk solely the RTD's the mother had supplied.
My friend put it to her that maybe she should stop buying them drink. Her response "they're only having fun.."
Profile pic. Should you be interested. Lakhsen, on the right, lost touch with him.
Mohammed, on the left, I'm still in touch with. He's now living in Agadez, Niger. More focused on his animals now as tourism has dried up. Is active with a co-op promoting local goods, leather work and bijouterie, into Europe. 
20/5/20

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almost 16 years ago · edited over 13 years ago
Steve-O wrote:
 
And, considering you can get married and things at 16, having a drinking age of 20 is nonsense and reeks of Nanny Statism.


So at what point do you say NO to the damage that alcohol abuse is doing?
Profile pic. Should you be interested. Lakhsen, on the right, lost touch with him.
Mohammed, on the left, I'm still in touch with. He's now living in Agadez, Niger. More focused on his animals now as tourism has dried up. Is active with a co-op promoting local goods, leather work and bijouterie, into Europe. 
20/5/20

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almost 16 years ago · edited over 13 years ago
CboZ wrote:
Drinking age: PI** OFF I Turn 18 in two weeks.
 
Lol at this.
 
Especially because I turned 20 about three weeks before they lowered the age to 18. W@nkers.

Incredible stamina. No shame. Yellow Fever.

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almost 16 years ago · edited over 13 years ago
Steve-O wrote:
And, considering you can get married and things at 16, having a drinking age of 20 is nonsense and reeks of Nanny Statism.
 
The fact that you can do other things at other ages is not a good argument for setting the drinking age.
 
You can have sex legally at 16, and go to war, so should we set the drinking age there?
 
You can stay home alone without adult supervision at 14, so why not there?
 
You can start primary school at 4, so why not just put it there?
 
In the opposite direction (and this probably more relevant than any other) you pay more for your car insurance if you're under 25, so why not make it 25?
 
The point is that, in this country more than many others, youth drinking is a problem.  It is a problem that has become worse since the drinking age moved to 18 from 20.  Has it become worse BECAUSE of that change?  Dunno.
 
On the one hand I don't really care.  I seldom feel directly impacted by youth drinking.  On the other hand, I know my taxes are paying for the social costs, and I know that (objectively) kids drinking isn't a good thing.
 
Will moving the age up reverse the trend of worsening youth drinking?  Dunno, but it wouldn't really hurt anyone (except a few kids who can't get into their Passionfruit Archers this weekend), so it's probably worth a go.  It's a very simple measure, so can be implemented quickly and cheaply and if it has the effect of reducing teen boozing then it will be a positive move.
 
Do I really care one way or the other though?  No, not really.  I predict an increase in the number of kids I coach asking me to buy beers for them if the age is increased, but that's probably the only direct effect it'll have on me.

Incredible stamina. No shame. Yellow Fever.

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almost 16 years ago · edited over 13 years ago
As a final thought, I have a lot of contact with teenagers through football coaching.  Mostly they are in the 15-20 age group.  Mostly they start drinking about the same time I did when I was growing up and that is around 15 or 16 (when the legal age was 20).  So probably the legal age makes f*ck all difference except it probably costs them a lot more now cos while we were in Khandallah Park on the Merry Go Round or breaking into the pool for a swim they are in E-Stab buying $15 vodka-redbulls.
 
I think parenting is the real issue here.  Good parents = kids not drinking.  Bad parents = kids on the hammer younger.

Incredible stamina. No shame. Yellow Fever.

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almost 16 years ago · edited over 13 years ago
I started drinking fairly youngish 13 and was quite a heavy drinker as a teenager as it was a big part of rowing culture tho done through the club rather than wandering the street. I gave up alcohol for years in my 20's cause first got severe glandular fever with kidney probs and then was way too into my bodybuilding to want any extra calories besmirching me.
 
Then I started working in hospo and again drank hard for a few years cause was how our social lives seemed to work. These days I'm more into raves and dancing and prefer that on a pill with minimal alcohol imput tho a cpl of times a year I still go hard but I find I enjoy it more these days cause drinking is a  novelty
 
As I'm usually in town in the weekends I have certainly noticed way more drunken young people around manners mall and courtney place over the last 5 years. And it's defanitly more of a girl problem these days then when I was that age. A few times already this year I've seen random females round the age of 20 unconscious outside various venues. Sure I grew up at a time whn drinking wasn't frowned upon but damm we still had common sense
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almost 16 years ago · edited over 13 years ago
Smithy wrote:
I think parenting is the real issue here.  Good parents = kids not drinking.  Bad parents = kids on the hammer younger.


Disagree. I started drinking properly at 15 but i wouldn't call my mum or dad bad parents.

Three for me, and two for them.

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almost 16 years ago · edited over 13 years ago
Buffon II wrote:
Smithy wrote:
I think parenting is the real issue here.  Good parents = kids not drinking.  Bad parents = kids on the hammer younger.


Disagree. I started drinking properly at 15 but i wouldn't call my mum or dad bad parents.
 
Borderline.

Incredible stamina. No shame. Yellow Fever.

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almost 16 years ago · edited over 13 years ago
Smithy wrote:
Buffon II wrote:
Smithy wrote:
I think parenting is the real issue here.  Good parents = kids not drinking.  Bad parents = kids on the hammer younger.


Disagree. I started drinking properly at 15 but i wouldn't call my mum or dad bad parents.
 
Borderline.


With all due respect though Smithy without knowing my parents you can't really judge them can you?

Three for me, and two for them.

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almost 16 years ago · edited over 13 years ago
Buffon II wrote:
Smithy wrote:
Buffon II wrote:
Smithy wrote:
I think parenting is the real issue here.  Good parents = kids not drinking.  Bad parents = kids on the hammer younger.


Disagree. I started drinking properly at 15 but i wouldn't call my mum or dad bad parents.
 
Borderline.


With all due respect though Smithy without knowing my parents you can't really judge them can you?
 
Sure I can.  I know you.

Incredible stamina. No shame. Yellow Fever.

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almost 16 years ago · edited over 13 years ago
Smithy wrote:
Buffon II wrote:
Smithy wrote:
Buffon II wrote:
Smithy wrote:
I think parenting is the real issue here.  Good parents = kids not drinking.  Bad parents = kids on the hammer younger.


Disagree. I started drinking properly at 15 but i wouldn't call my mum or dad bad parents.
 
Borderline.


With all due respect though Smithy without knowing my parents you can't really judge them can you?
 
Sure I can.  I know you.


Yeah you know me, not them. You know nothing about them.

Three for me, and two for them.

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almost 16 years ago · edited over 13 years ago
Close bottle stores at 10, sure.
What about being intoxicated in public.  Since that was done away with, you can be a right little s*** and cause lots of agro.
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almost 16 years ago · edited over 13 years ago
Smithy wrote:
Steve-O wrote:
And, considering you can get married and things at 16, having a drinking age of 20 is nonsense and reeks of Nanny Statism.
 
The fact that you can do other things at other ages is not a good argument for setting the drinking age.
 
You can have sex legally at 16, and go to war, so should we set the drinking age there?
 
You can stay home alone without adult supervision at 14, so why not there?
 
You can start primary school at 4, so why not just put it there?
 
In the opposite direction (and this probably more relevant than any other) you pay more for your car insurance if you're under 25, so why not make it 25?
 
 
 
The issue is trust. If you can be trusted to have sex, go to war, get married, and smoke from 16-18 then I don't think it's unreasonable to be trusted to be able to have a drink at 18.
 
Raising the age to 20 would also put NZ as one of the highest drinking ages in the world. The fact that most other countries allow it at 18 kind of proves that the age limit is not really the issue IMO.
 
For me, and I've noticed it particularly since I moved over here, it's the binge drinking at home that is the main problem. Alcohol prices in town are ridiculously high, paricularly for spirits - $8 for a 15ml vodka and dash of coke! - so the younger people tend to get hammered at home on cheap booze, then head to town where they don't even buy any more drinks.
 
Back home, there is less of a drinking in the house culture and people prefer to go to the pub and then maybe onto a club or whatever. Saying that, Scotland is hardly the example you want to follow, but there is a real culture of drinking just to get drunk here and I don't know how you solve that. When something is so ingrained in culture, it is difficult to get rid of through legislation alone.
 
All of these changes are also unfair to the people who can use alcohol in a sensible way.
 
The 4am closing time will simply lead to all pubs spilling out into the street at the same time and will result in even more trouble because the likes of Courtenay Place will be heaving with drunken idiots all trying to get home at the same time.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qe_B5CzbTJo - Caceres winning penalty v Perth - footage from the Fever Zone

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almost 16 years ago · edited over 13 years ago
dairyflat wrote:
Steve-O wrote:
 
And, considering you can get married and things at 16, having a drinking age of 20 is nonsense and reeks of Nanny Statism.


So at what point do you say NO to the damage that alcohol abuse is doing?
 
Changing the age will do nothing to stop alcohol abuse. It will simply lead to MORE underage drinking because there will be literally more people who are underage!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qe_B5CzbTJo - Caceres winning penalty v Perth - footage from the Fever Zone

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