Auckland bottle shops to stop selling alcohol after 9pm

Auckland Council has voted unanimously to stop alcohol sales in retail stores after 9pm and set a date for the change.

Supermarkets and bottle shops must implement the change from December 9 this year.

Auckland Council on Thursday approved the Auckland Local Alcohol Policy, which will ban new drink shops in certain town centres for two years from September 16.

The committee said the new rules would reduce alcohol-related harm.

Before the vote, Deputy Lord Mayor Desley Simpson spoke of the decade-long legal battle with Woolworths and Foodstuffs which had delayed the implementation of the policy.

“There’s a saying that goes ‘good things take time’ – in this case, 4,917 days.”

Community advocates from Communities Against Alcohol Harm, the Ōtara Gambling and Alcohol Action Group and Turehou Māori Warden cheered and applauded after the alcohol policy was approved.

Mayor Wayne Brown was absent from the vote but arrived immediately afterward. Simpson confirmed he had spoken at a conference on building the nation’s infrastructure.

Manurewa-Papakura MP Angela Dalton criticised supermarket chains for opposing the policy.

“It is unacceptable to profit from harming vulnerable people.”

She said the vote was a milestone for Auckland and would set a precedent for other councils across the country.

Manukau district councillor Lotu Fuli said alcohol was too easily available and was fuelling anti-social behaviour.

“There are liquor stores everywhere now. There are 40 liquor stores in my district alone.”

She said closing liquor stores early would keep store owners and employees safe.

“I’m not disparaging the liquor stores, the owners have families too. But I think it’s for their benefit – to keep them safe.”