6pm booze ban

Having a post-work drink at the lakefront may become a fineable offence when a new alcohol bylaw comes into effect in Queenstown Lakes. Rules banning alcohol after 6pm in public places in Wānaka, Hāwea, Frankton and Queenstown were approved by councillors by a narrow 6-5 margin at Thursday's council meeting. A hearings panel made up of councillors recommended a handful of bylaw changes, the change to the overnight alcohol ban’s start time from 8pm-8am to 6pm-6am the most notable. Cr Lisa Guy said 6pm was the "middle of the day" during summertime. "A lot of our families do not take their children into licensed areas to drink but they may like to go and have a picnic and have a drink." She questioned whether the rule would "perhaps harshly penalise" the majority of residents. A handful of councillors questioned whether there was enough evidence to back up all the recommended changes. Deputy mayor Quentin Smith, chair of the hearings panel on the bylaw, defended its recommendations. He said they were based on information and data presented by stakeholders including NZ Police during the hearings. "We tried to react appropriately to the evidence that was before us," he said. "If you allocate a bracket as cleanly as possible [the alcohol ban] would have been between 4.30 in the afternoon and 4.30 in the morning," he said. "The fact we’ve gone 6pm-6am is actually a softer approach." After some debate, chief executive Mike Theelen reminded councillors they had empowered a subset of councillors to be the hearings panel. "I think it's largely incumbent on councillors to follow the lead of the hearings panel unless they believe there is considerable risk with those decisions." - Wānaka App