Courtenay Place bar owners accuse police of 'forcing' booze law change
Tuesday, 19 July 2016
A stoush is brewing between Wellington bar owners and police over lockout laws.
Bar owners around the Courtenay Place nightlife hub have accused police of trying to 'force' a one-way door policy on the capital's party precinct by objecting to every 4am licence renewal.
Hospitality New Zealand Wellington regional manager Dylan Firth said police had approached many licensees and indicated that, if they did not accept conditions, police would oppose the licence renewal, and the licensee would have to go to a hearing, racking up considerable legal costs.
Police had made it clear they intended to seek a one-way door condition on each new on-licence application, and each on-licence renewal, in the Wellington CBD, he said.
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A one-way door policy would stop anyone entering a bar after a set time, such as 2am or 3am. Those already inside at the cutoff time would be allowed to stay until the 4am closing time.
During the drafting of Wellington City Council's Local Alcohol Policy in 2013, council officers considered a one-way door policy and ruled it out.
Firth said Wellington publicans who currently had 4am licences felt threatened by the latest police tactics and were considering using body cameras on staff to ensure compliance from customers and to record incidents with police.
'Many bar owners feel that, if they don't agree to the conditions the police want, they will be unfairly targeted with increased police presence in their bars.'
Central Sydney imposed a one-way door, or lockout, policy in 2014, which police said had since reduced violence and disorder.
However, data from Sydney showed offending had simply been pushed to other areas, Firth said.
Sydney's hospitality industry has complained that night-time foot traffic has dropped by about 80 per cent in Kings Cross and Oxford St, and more than 40 nightlife venues have closed.
'TRYING TO CHANGE THE LAW BY FORCE'
Nick Mills, whose family employs 160 people in its group of businesses including Bettys, Public, Hummingbird, Boston, Edison's Superette, The Tasting Room and Spruce Goose, said Courtenay Place was nothing like it used to be, and a one-way door policy would be detrimental to business, as it had been in Sydney.
'No-one is thinking about the hundreds of workers who will have to start again when a business shuts.'
The legal battle to renew a licence for Siglo saw him spend eight times more than it would usually cost for a licence, he said.
'Places like Edison's only open two nights a week, and paying for the legal fees for a licence would cost at least 50 per cent of its profit for a year. It's ludicrous.'
He never had a problem with the police before, and thought of them as allies.
'I don't think they should oppose [bar] owners trying to renew a licence when they have an exemplary history in the industry. They are trying to change the law by force.'
Matt McLaughlin, who owns Dirty Little Secret, Four Kings and Electric Avenue, said police were trying to phase in lockouts by 'picking off' bars as their licences came up for renewal, then granting renewals only if they agreed to the one-way door policy.
Although Courtenay Place could be 'messy, loud and obnoxious', it was generally a safe place to party, he said.
VIABLE OPTION FOR POLICE
Wellington district alcohol harm prevention co-ordinator Senior Sergeant Derek Orchard rejected bar owners' claims that police were trying to change the law by force.
A one-way door policy was a viable option to reduce alcohol-related harm, and evidence supported its effectiveness.
The decision on any conditions asked for on-licences, such as the one-way door policy, was not made by police, but was up to district licensing committees and the Alcohol Regulatory and Licensing Authority, he said.