Whangarei bars angry at reduced opening hours

The protestors were owners AND staff AND customers. Bar owners have every right to worry about there profits and to protect there interests. Most of them have hundreds of thousands of dollars invested in there businesses, they employ people, pay taxes and rates. The Government did not enforce one way door policies as there is not enough evidence worldwide they actually work and don't make the situation worse. They also voted on the split age allowing 18-20 years olds to drink in bars but not purchase from off licenses as they are supervised controlled evironments. What makes the Whangarei District Council think they know better than the National Government!!!???

The reality is the new policy voted in by council yesterday does very little if anything to address problem drinking in our community, even a number of the councillors at the meeting yesterday said so. I personally believe the measures that have been introduced will actually lead to more violence and drink driving. Having an earlier closing time for any establishment outside of the CBD will encourage people to leave the suburban and country bars at closing time (11am) and rush into town to get in a couple more drinks, between 10pm and 11pm is potentially a very dangerous time to be encouraging people to drive as they are more than likely to be hovering around the legal limit to drive. A one way door policy from 1am has many flaws but my main concern with it is that it will encourage more people to party in private residences away from the safe, controlled environment of a licensed premises, thus bringing an increased risk to the drinker as well as a to the local residents. As I see it an increased police presence in the CBD would go a long way to curbing issues of disorder and intoxication before they became a problem, currently we see the Police walking the street of the CBD once or twice a night. If more was done to encourage people back to the restaurants and bars of the CBD it would put more people in the same place at the same time reducing the geographical spread of our local police force, thereby freeing up their resources to spend more time in the CBD working on prevention and intervention rather than on clean up duty in our neighbourhoods. The government has recently acknowledged that a licensed premise is a more controlled safer environment for our 18 and 19 year olds to learn how to drink by splitting the purchase age for on and off licences. What makes our local council think they know better??

Katrina, opening hours have nothing to do with the behaviour of people when they drink. It's just another law to punish not only the sensible majority who want a good night out, it is also detriment to those businesses who are catering for that demand.

Bars will have to close by 3am. 3am & still drinking, this is night life!?!!

The protestors are just bar owners who are worried about profits and don't care about the fact that New Zealanders are drinking too much and the violence and crimes that often eventuate from that.