Dunedin City Council passed a motion this afternoon urging Parliament to get on with Green MP Chlöe Swarbrick’s Alcohol Harm Minimisation Bill.

They join Auckland, Christchurch, Hamilton, Palmerston North City Councils and Whanganui, Gisborne, Waipa, Hauraki and New Plymouth District Councils in their support.

This advocacy sits alongside the growing Pass the Bill campaign led by Hāpai te Hauora and Alcohol Healthwatch which has seen organisations like the Mental Health Foundation, FASD Care Action Network, St John, Child Poverty Action Group, Women’s Refuge, Consumer., Age Concern and many, many more throw their weight behind Swarbrick’s Bill.

“We understand this formal backing from public health experts, community leaders and local authorities representing more than half of the countries’ population makes this the most widely supported Member’s Bill to make it to First Reading,” says Chlöe Swarbrick, Green Drug Reform Spokesperson.

“Last week, many Members of Parliament wore daffodils in recognition of the Cancer Society’s decades-long campaign to raise awareness and resource for cancer treatment. In the next few weeks, they will show whether they have the backbone to put that symbolism into action by supporting my Bill, as the Cancer Society does.”

The Bill is expected to have its first reading in late September.

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