Drug law reform

The Green Party welcomes the bill. We in particular welcome the fact that it is, really, the first significant modern attempt to have a rational, principles-based framework for the regulation of drugs. More

Alcohol, under this set of bills, will in most cases continue to be available more or less anywhere, any time. Consumers will still be bathed in alcohol marketing wherever they go. Alcohol will continue to be available cheaper than milk. More

The weight of evidence is that when the density of alcohol outlets increases, we also see increased rates of "violence and physical assaults, sexually transmitted infections, child abuse, drink-driving", and those other deleterious consequences of alcohol consumption or heavy alcohol consumption that this bill sets out to minimise. More

Each individual community that has the expert knowledge about culture, values, and ways of doing things within a particular community. They are the ones who will know what will work and will not work. More

We use price in relation to tobacco control as a means of suppressing demand. I think it would be fair to say that, I think, every member of this House has recently voted for increases to the excise tax on tobacco on that basis—to reduce consumption of tobacco products. More

I want to come next to draw the Committee's attention in these preliminary remarks to the fact that probably roughly 1,000 New Zealanders each year lose their lives due to the consumption of alcohol—1,000 per year. More

Interestingly, in 1990 we instituted this restriction on advertising and sponsorship for tobacco, but in 1992 we effectively removed all of the controls on advertising and sponsorship of alcohol. More

There is no shortage of New Zealand research on the impact of advertising and sponsorship from the alcohol industry on problem drinking. The jury is absolutely in; it is simply that this Government is choosing not to respond to that evidence. More

Today 13 of us will vote to retain the current purchase age of 18 while Kennedy Graham will cast a proxy vote for 20. None of us support the split age that is currently provided for in the bill. More