Caught in the middle of an alcohol monopoly, some residents say Auckland beachside community in dire need for change
Friday, 18 September 2020
It is one of Auckland's hottest up and coming suburbs, labelled the next Pt Chevalier, but Te Atatū Peninsula in West Auckland is an area missing out on a vibrant and soulful nightlife.
Residents and business owners at Te Atatū Peninsula are fuming over the lack of choices available for good bars and restaurants that can serve alcohol.
The situation is dire, and some say the suburb, like other parts of Auckland’s west, is being held back by an alcohol sale monopoly, guarded by a decades-old licensing trust model.
The Trusts, a collective name for the Portage and Waitākere licensing trusts, is the only organisation that can apply to Auckland Council for a licence to run a bottle shop or restaurant with a bar, and have only two of these in the Peninsula.
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Resident Graham Farrelly says the residents of Te Atatū Peninsula are caught in the middle of all this.
It’s an area that has the best of two worlds – Auckland’s bustling CBD just a 15-minute drive away on one direction, and the west coast’s black sand beaches and scenic views of the Waitākere Ranges and wineries on the other.
It has good schools, cafés and op shops, great walking and cycling facilities, an amazing view of Auckland’s harbour and soon maybe its own marae, but it only has a handful of places people can wine and dine at.
Farrelly believes it could offer a lot more.
“It would be nice to have a few more bars and restaurants to go and socialise,” he says.
It’s the village feel that residents boast about. Parks are dotted all around and there is a beautiful coastal walk with extensive views of the Waitematā Harbour.
The houses are a mix of older homes from the 1970s and new developments and its quiet, with no-through traffic.
“It’s an amazing place to live and raise a family in, but there is always room for improvement,” Farrelly says.
Dane Halloran also believes the Peninsula could be a better, more vibrant community.
“This area is growing, becoming more diverse, where people have different tastes. There is a demand for more hospitality options and the Trusts is simply not meeting that,” he says.
“Their way has been one size fits all and that’s OK, but we’re better than OK. They are holding investment back.”
One only needs to walk through the town centre to see how dead it gets at night, he says.
“It’s only when we get this monopoly out that we can truly experience growth, and we can’t get that with the Trusts.”
However, Trusts chief executive Allan Pollard however believes Te Atatū Peninsula is great as it is. He doesn’t want the area to become a party zone.
He himself is a resident and in his view, the balance of eating and drinking venues is “just about right”.
“I really enjoy living in Tat Pen, it’s very family orientated. From what I know of the community, I don’t believe that they would want it to become the Courtenay Place of the North.”
A residents’ group, West Auckland Licensing Trust Action Group (WALTAG), has been on a crusade since 2018 to remove the Trusts’ monopoly.
Organiser Nick Smale says they have been collecting signatures to trigger a referendum, so far they have collected 26,000 and need at least 5000 more to force a vote.
The last and only referendum was 17 years ago, when supermarkets challenged the Trusts on its monopoly.
How Licensing Trusts Work
Visitors to West Auckland are often left scratching their heads as to why they can't buy wine at the supermarket, or easily find a bar to socialise in.
How alcohol licensing trusts work is complicated and often confusing, and their existence is something many West Aucklanders feel passionately about – either for or against.
Up until the 1940s, alcohol was prohibited or restricted in many parts of New Zealand. As prohibition was lifted, a number of communities around the country were still concerned about ensuring that the sale of alcohol was managed in a community-minded way.
Licensing trusts were born out of this, with the first, Invercargill Licensing Trust, established in 1944.. Only a handful still operate today.
In 1971, a 95 per cent majority of West Aucklanders voted to establish the Waitākere Licensing Trust and the Portage Licensing Trust to manage alcohol sales.
It means that from Kumeū in the east to the inner-west suburb of Avondale and parts of Blockhouse Bay, only The Trusts are allowed to apply to for a licence to run a bottle shop or a bar.
There are a few historical exceptions to businesses who have renewed licences from before 1972 and point of sale shops, such as wineries.
There is nothing stopping any business to apply for a liquor licence in the west, as long as their primary purpose is selling food or entertainment and not just drinking.
The Trusts exclusively operate venues that trade late into the night, like bars, where the primary focus is to sell alcohol.
Fighting Goliath for a referendum
WALTAG has been fighting for two years, with their main goal to abolish the alcohol monopoly by triggering a referendum.
That can only be done in two ways: if the two trust boards push for a vote themselves, or if 15 per cent of people on the electoral roll in the Trusts’ area sign a petition.
A petition of 28,000 valid signatures can trigger a referendum, usually held three months after it is submitted and approved by the Alcohol Regulatory and Licensing Authority.
Then, West Aucklanders can vote to decide if the alcohol monopoly stays, or goes.
If more than 50 per cent of people voted against a licensing trust, competition would be allowed to set up bottle shops and bars. Supermarkets would be able to sell alcohol.
The Trusts would continue along with its elected members, but its alcohol sales profit could take a hit.
If the majority of voters opt for a monopoly, no change is effected and there is a three-year stand-down before another referendum can be held.
The only time the Trusts have ever been challenged in a referendum was in 2003.
Back then, large supermarket operators Foodstuffs and Progressive Enterprises got together and decided to fight The Trusts for the right to sell alcohol in their shops.
They gathered enough signatures to force a referendum but in the end, 57.8 per cent of voters supported the Waitākere trust and 58.3 per cent supported Portage.
Community organisations like schools and lifeguards lobbied for the Trusts. Progressive accused the Trusts of buying votes.
The supermarkets vowed to try again three years later, but never did.
Trusts were required by law to pay for the referendum, but they did not initially want to pay the $15,000 for scrutineers to check the supermarkets' 24,000 signatures.
The supermarkets were reported as spending $3 million on advertising. Trusts spent $1.3 million defending the poll.
Smales says WALTAG’s crusade for a referendum has been long and exhausting. Their biggest challenge has been resources.
They had two big blasts of signatures, first in 2018 and in mid-2019 but in between these times, signatures have been slowly trickling in.
Covid-19 has also stymied their plans to collect signatures.
“We’re very close but we can’t hang on to these signatures forever.
“The group has resolved to make one final push for signatures after the upcoming general election, and then submit the petition (hopefully before Christmas).”
If the petition falls short, it seems unlikely another community-based petition will pop-up in the near future, he says.
We are not the enemy
Trusts chief executive Allan Pollard says they are not against a referendum and if people chose it, they will happily oblige.
“There is a proper process under the Sale and Supply of Alcohol Act 2012 for the community to call for a poll.
“The process is not up for debate. If our community is supportive of the call for a vote, it will happen.”
He says there are ample choices in West Auckland for people to eat and drink in, both in Trust and non-Trust venues.
Their two businesses in Te Atatū Peninsula, Mr Illingsworth and Te Atatū Tavern, provide regular entertainment such as DJs, live music and live sport.
Trusts have 19 West Liquor outlets, nine hospitality outlets and one hotel.
“Auckland also has some of the largest concert venues in New Zealand – including the Trusts Arena – which are only a short Uber ride from Te Atatū Peninsula, so there is plenty of choice.”
Pollard says any amount of liquor licences is not a measure of an area’s hip and vibrant environment.
“It’s really a matter of personal preference, and we’ve tried to cater to that with a range of offerings across our venues.
“As a whole, I for one was very pleased with the choice of venues to eat and drink on the Peninsula, from breakfast to dinner.”
West Auckland without a monopoly
The Trusts say that they are more than just their bottle shops and pokie machines.
A big part of what they are is giving back to the community, but they need the alcohol monopoly to be able to do that.
Elected members of the Portage and Waitākere licensing trusts set the direction for the Trusts business, including where profits from alcohol sales should go, through the Trusts Community Foundation (TTCF).
On its website, the Trusts says: “Every dollar you spend in our stores means there is more money available to give back to the groups and causes in our community that need support”.
In the 2018/19 financial year, Trusts says it gave back just over $2.5 million to the West Auckland community and intents to increase this to $3.5m this year.
“The money we give back comes from profit generated in our retail and hospitality businesses and returns from our investment strategy.”
But Smale says Trusts have enough money in the bank to keep giving back to the community, even without the alcohol monopoly.
“If we get rid of the monopoly, Trusts still stays. They still hold all of their assets and generate income for all of those assets, they would generate just as much interest as they do now.
“Funding to community groups should stay the same, the change is instead of all the politicians running the bottle stores, there will be private operators doing that too.”
Last year Trusts was found guilty of misleading the public, claiming that 47 percent of profits were given back to the community.
The Advertising Standards Authority said the two trusts, Waitākere and Portage, had not provided enough evidence to support that claim after WALTAG filed a complaint against their advertising.
WALTAG research had found that over the past six years the amount of profit returned to the community had only been between four and 23 percent.
Smale says West Auckland needs better.
If their petition falls short, community driven change will most likely come through contesting the local body elections and forcing change from the inside.
Five candidates ran under the WALTAG ticket in last year’s elections and two were elected.
“Gaining an overall majority on either board would be difficult, but we were well supported in 2019 and if we take the lessons from that election – anything is possible.”