New drinking laws 'easy' to avoid

Off the top of my head I can recall 11 bottle stores in Otara not including the 2 super markets that sell alcohol as well, 3 of them are within 500m from my house and we always have trouble with piss heads getting wasted and getting up to no good. 11 bottle stores for one small suburb, and I don't know if it's just me but it seems like there are also more bottles stores near every exit from Otara as well. I'll prove it, near Papatoetoe exit from Otara there is The Mill, near the Otahuhu exit from Otara there is a bottle store next to the G.A.S Station where they filmed Once Were Warriors, near Botany Downs exit from Otara there is The Mill again (different to the Papatoetoe one) near the Manukau exit from Otara there is a Super Liquor, and on your way out to Maraetai from Otara there's another new bottle store, there was already 10 bottle stores in Otara and they built a new one, what are they thinking. So besides the 11 bottles stores and 2 super markets that sell alcohol, there are also more bottles stores near every exit route out of Otara, not to mention that the DB Breweries is next to Otara and also the Lion Nathan Breweries is also next to Otara, and they wonder why there is so much trouble with drunks? I don't have to wonder because I know, there's too many places selling alcohol in Otara and they even make alcohol just down the road from as well, bit of a no brainer there

binge drinkers are criminals

no matter what you do, its not going to stop. Underagers with always find a way to get their alcohol. Raising the age limit is stupid and pointless.

This is about one of the dumbest things the Government has done this year. Whether you raise the legal drinking limit to 20 or leave it at 18.. Parties are still going to be the same. If the Government doesnt want us drinking or even snmoking .. Then why have stores that sells them? Yet, that can just start a whole different debate because we all know that the Government wants more money out of us . By raising the drinking age to 20.. dont think its going to be a good idea and a lot of people are going to be dissapointed this year when they turn 18, and those who have turned 18 earlier this year .. Definetly dissapointed . alot of people are . Is this really such a good idea ? it is, but only to a point . I agreee with Zoe, Kate, Amy, Anne and Alex too .

@Johnmillan
Just to be a pain and because i want to show how smart i am (lol) your comment " useless as the B--Ls on a brass monkey" is not even close to correct. the expression is "freeze the b*lls off a brass monkey. This saying orignated back in the day of cannon balls. A brass monkey was the stand that they used to stack the cannon balls on. when they froze in the russian winters the stands shrunk with the cold and this caused the cannon balls to topple off..hence the saying "freeze the ball off a brass monkey". I hope this helps....maybe we could dub John Keys a brass monkey.

First is the drinking limit, now it's underage drinkers! I find it rather baffling as to what the Government is trying to implement here. Why do they spend millions in Ads to tell people NOT to drink and drive, and at the same time, bending it to say you CAN drink and drive but just not over the limit? Why don't they implement one law that says that if drink & drive, regardless of the limit, and you'll have a criminal record. Are there not enough casualties and deaths that has been caused by drunk drivers? Why can't the Government just take a stand and not 'bend' the law to make it convenient for people to drink and drive. Similar to underaged drinkers, the Government is allowing for them to drink at a young age as long as they have permission? What's the point in implementing laws if you keep bending it? Might as well not have the law in the first place! The law should be if they start drinking at a young age, they'll have a criminal record tagged on them. It's basically to discourage youths from drinking at such a young age where their minds and body are not even mature enough to accept. The next BIG issue is when the Government would need to spend millions on medical cost on youths who will be having health related issues caused by drinking or party pills. Drinking culture especially among the youths, is not something that NZ is proud of but it seemed like it's being encouraged by the Government that as long as the underaged has 'permission', then it's okay to get pissed. It's just sad...

The proposal to increase off-licenses purchase age to 20 is the least constructive measure of all the policies. As it has never been a problem for underage people to acquire alcohol (even when the age was 20), how does the government actually think that this will cause the young to behave more responsibly. It's a cop-out, it's going to have the contrary effect. The government should be encouraging responsible drinking ...not taking it away - and penalising only the individuals who misbehave. It also does not address the fact that a lot of misbehaviour also occurs from older drinkers who should be setting the example for our youth, and some clearly cannot. Still... as this is a conscience vote, with some lobbying there is still a good possibility it will fail.

these new laws are just plain stupid. they aren't going to stop the binge drinking but instead lead to more house parties where people aren't supervised and instead disturb their neighbours. we need to take examples from places such as Austria and Denmark where the buying ages can be as low as 16, and yet they don't have a binge drinking problem.

Stop winging and expecting the government to babysit your kids. when I was 18 I'd go thru a couple 24 packs a weekend, I would take it upon myself to do it in a safe environment with friends and family. I'm 24 now, I'm over that stage and would be lucky to have a 6pack a fortnight.
start making the problem individuals accountable like paying for medical care as a result of drinking etc. Imagine if everytime you got taken to the cells for drunk behavior etc and charged for it, that'd soon make an impact.
If someone drinks to much and gets themself killed then thats their own dumb fault, not the governments.

Personally I believe that if I can vote for my country at 18, die for my country at 18 and be considered an adult in my country at the age of 18 I should be allowed to have a drink and buy alcohol at 18. And to say it is purely a youth problem doesn't address the underlying issues and won't solve them either. I think the government has lost touch with how it works in the real world and what they were like at 18.