Auckland City Council

Press Release

Voluntary Downtown Liquor Accord

Auckland City’s City Advocacy Committee today endorsed a proposed voluntary Downtown Liquor Accord and recommended that Council take a leading role in finalising agreement and action on it.

In April Auckland City agreed with Auckland Police and representatives of the hospitality industry, to develop an initiative that would allow entertainment and dining venues to be able to operate in a sustainable and responsible manner through APEC, America’s Cup, Millennium and beyond.

The interested parties have met progressively since then and produced a draft Accord which was considered at a 14 July Workshop. Representatives attended from Auckland City Environments, Auckland City’s Community Planning group (with its Safer Auckland City programme), the Police, the Restaurant Association of New Zealand, and the Hospitality Association. Parties to the draft accord believe it spells out the processes by which all parties could work together in the inner city.

High on the priority list is maintaining a safe, inner city environment, and helping meet Auckland City’s strategic goals of creating a City that is Alive and Exciting, and
A Great Community to Belong to (with the added dimension of creating a city more easy to move around in comfort and safety). Now that guidelines are developed, the accord will establish a voluntary process with undertaking from all inner city interests, enabling them to work together effectively.

Committee Chairperson Richard Northey said he was pleased to have the wholehearted support of the committee on this issue.

"The committee will recommend to Council that they support the accord and become a party to it. There’s a recommendation that they appoint a councillor to the proposed Accord Committee, in recognition of the accord being a success in its own right and for the precedent it sets for the Karangahape Road and Ponsonby Road areas.

"Downtown and Viaduct Harbour have attracted a large number of liquor licensing applications in anticipation of increased visitors expected for the America’s Cup. Although all Millennium events provide an impetus to reaching an Accord, Council wants a lasting process for promoting joint initiatives of all those in the downtown area. It also wants to resolve conflicts in the long term, so those areas remain a vital tourist mecca," Cr Northey says.

Cr Northey says the Accord Process aims at a win/win situation for those wanting a vibrant entertainment area and those who want an area that is clean, safe and not too noisy to live and work in.

"This is the best option for all involved," Cr Northey says.

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