Crunch time for campaign to end West Auckland liquor trust monopoly
Thursday, 7 October 2021
A three-year campaign hoping to end a liquor licensing trust monopoly in much of West Auckland is coming to the crunch, with the lodging of a petition on Friday that could lead to a public vote.
The West Auckland Licensing Trusts Action Group (WALTAG) has gathered 37,500 signatures – of which 15,000 need to be declared valid – to force a referendum on the Waitākere Licensing Trust monopoly.
Only four monopoly trust areas remain in the country – Waitākere, the neighbouring Portage Trust, and those in Invercargill and Mataura.
“It’s a hell of a challenge getting one of these petitions done. We’ve assumed that up to half the signatures could be considered invalid, which doubled the size of the task,” WALTAG’s Nick Smale said.
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The campaigners want alcohol to be sold in the same way it is elsewhere, which would include ending a ban on supermarket sales in West Auckland and allowing privately-owned liquor stores.
“The local options when you’re shopping for alcohol or going out for a drink in West Auckland aren’t up to the standards we see in other areas,” Smale said.
“Competition will always deliver better for consumers than a monopoly.”
Supporters of the trust model point to strong, elected-member control over alcohol sales and the returning of profits to community organisations.
“The Trusts supports sports clubs and schools, such as Tirimoana Primary which was given $32,000 last year, something that wouldn’t be done by Countdown or Pak’n Save,” long-time West Auckland politician Chris Carter said.
Carter taught in West Auckland before serving 18 years as Labour MP for Te Atatū. He is now on the Auckland District Health Board and Henderson-Massey Local Board.
He said the DHB recently considered a paper on the impact of access to alcohol on young people, especially in southern and eastern parts of Auckland.
“In a trust area, elected members committed to social responsibility make decisions with community input,” he said.
The Waitākere Licensing Trust delivered the lion’s share of the combined West Auckland Trusts’ $1.2 million after-tax profit in the past financial year, with $1.1 million distributed to community groups.
The Trust said it would move quickly to appoint a scrutineer and if the threshold of 15 per cent of the 100,000 electors was met, a postal poll could be held in March or April 2022.
“The poll would be a monumental decision, when you see other communities wanting more control – is it ready for wine and beer in supermarkets and a proliferation of bottle stores,” Trusts chief executive Allan Pollard said.
Pollard said the trust respected it was a community matter, but felt the petition was out of step with sentiment elsewhere.
He said there were about 495 liquor licences in central Auckland, 290 in the north and 240 in the south, and the 40 in the west would rise quickly if trust control ended.
The trust would foot the cost of the poll, which Stuff understands could be about $200,000.
WALTAG has struggled with a similar petition in the smaller, neighbouring Portage Licensing Trust area, which it said was due to no large retailer agreeing to let it gather signatures at their locations.
The issue was last put to the vote for both West Auckland trusts in 2003 after a petition driven by the major supermarket chains. Nearly 60 per cent voted in favour of retaining the monopoly.