Wellington City councillor wants Courtenay Place bars to close earlier to combat rising violence
Wednesday, 12 August 2020
A Wellington City councillor wants Courtenay Place bars to close earlier to combat rising violence, but the hospitality industry says bars are not the problem.
A large brawl early on Saturday was the latest alcohol-fuelled incident to occur in the area in recent months, with police responding to a serious incident almost every weekend.
City councillor Fleur Fitzsimons, who holds the council’s community wellbeing portfolio, said opening hours of central city bars needed to be revisited following the recent violence.
The current closing time was 4am, and that should be brought forward to 2am or 3am, she said.
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However, any legislative change would take time, so Fitzsimons was calling on bars to voluntarily close earlier in the meantime.
“I understand that the legal framework requires this to be done through the development of a Local Alcohol Plan, which takes many months.
“Some bars are already closing earlier. It would be helpful if this was an industry-wide approach to determine the extent to which 4am closing is contributing to the violence in the city.”
The idea was not widely supported by councillors, and Fitzsimons would be seeking advice from council officers about possible next steps.
But earlier closing hours were not a silver bullet.
“Courtenay Place needs a spruce up, and we need to consider more CCTV cameras, better lighting, and more support for Take Ten [a support group for vulnerable youth].”
But Hospitality New Zealand Wellington branch president Matt McLaughlin said the idea of closing bars early was “crazy”, and would not solve the problem of violence on Courtenay Place.
“It’s not the answer to the problem – we are not the problem.
“If you close the bars earlier, you’re going to throw more people out on the streets.
“The problem is people loitering on the streets, and they can’t go anywhere because there’s no public transport [in the early morning].”
Other factors such as “derelict” buildings along Courtenay Place, poor lighting, a lack of entertainment options, and reduced monitoring of CCTV cameras were contributing to the creation of a rowdy atmosphere, McLaughlin said.
Until recently, the CCTV cameras were monitored by a group of trained volunteers at the Wellington central police station, but a data network upgrade resulted in the closure of the service.
About half of the cameras were now monitored at the city council building, and a former volunteer said screens at both locations were often not monitored.
“Those cameras should be monitored – that’s a big part of your problem solved,” McLaughlin said.
“Maybe the council should actually look in the mirror and see what more they could do themselves.
“We’re doing all we can. We want to make the city safer but to have the finger pointed at us as part of the problem … we’re not part of the problem.”
The closure of several buildings and a lack of live entertainment was attracting a rowdy bunch of late-night revellers, with derelict buildings a “haven for crime”, he said.
“Late-night bars are sort of the last man standing.”
McLaughlin met on Wednesday with the council’s Night Time Economy Forum, made up of council staff, police, regional public health, and hospitality businesses.
Police did not comment on whether they supported earlier closing times.
“Police want a safe, vibrant city, and looks forward to collaborating with council and hospitality to develop initiatives and strategies to achieve that outcome.”