MEDIA RELEASE

25 October 2002

Public to have say on alcohol ban extension

Auckland City Council hopes to make the Viaduct Basin a safer and more enjoyable place this summer with a ban on drinking alcohol in public places.

The council has endorsed the recommendation of its Law and Order Committee to extend the city centre alcohol ban to cover the following public places in the Viaduct Basin - Market Square, Te Wero Island and Waitemata Plaza and the adjoining walkway.

Aucklanders and visitors to the city have a month to have their say on the proposed ban. A hearing of oral submissions by the Law and Order committee will be held on 27 November 2002, with council making a final decision at their meeting the following day.

If council approves the extension it will come into force during the first week of December 2002.

The ban will give the police the authority to stop people drinking alcohol in public places in the Viaduct Basin from 9pm to 6am every Thursday, Friday and Saturday.

The ban does not cover licensed bars, clubs or restaurants including pavement seating that is part of the licensed premise. People carrying alcohol through the ban area to a private residence or BYO restaurant will not be targeted.

Chair of the Law and Order Committee Councillor Noelene Raffills says the police will be taking a common sense approach towards enforcement.

“The ban is not about stopping people having fun. It is about ensuring the police have the necessary tools to control alcohol related problems and safeguard the Viaduct Basin as one of the country’s premier night-spots.”

“The police and business operators in the Viaduct were very supportive of the ban extension,” she says.

Private property owners in the Viaduct have given the police the authority to issue trespass notices to people who are in the possession of, or drinking alcohol on their land.

ENDS

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