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Submissions

Christchurch City Council Local Alcohol Policy

Posted in Regional; Tagged Accessibility, Health; Posted 18 months ago by DPA Less than a minute to read

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To: Christchurch City Council
Date: March 2025 

 

Purpose

The primary purpose is to advocate for the adoption of a more restrictive, "safety first" policy, emphasising its potential to protect all residents from the risks posed by alcohol related offending, particularly against disabled people.

Summary of DPA submission

DPA’s support is grounded in significant and well-documented risks disproportionately affecting the disabled community. Firstly, disabled people face a higher risk of violence, including intimate partner violence linked to alcohol use, with statistics showing that 40% of disabled women and 47% of disabled men experience this. Additionally, disabled adults experience higher rates of crime and harassment and report feeling less safe when moving around alone after dark or using public transport.

Secondly, DPA highlights the direct impacts of alcohol overconsumption and misuse on the health and safety of disabled people. This includes the risk of encountering aggressive and offensive behaviour from intoxicated individuals on city streets, which can cause anxiety and fear. Furthermore, property damage, particularly the common occurrence of broken liquor bottles on streets and footpaths, poses a specific and significant risk. Disabled people who rely on mobility devices, such as wheelchairs or scooters, are at greater risk of having their tyres punctured by broken glass, which can render their devices temporarily unusable and create dangerous situations.

DPA specifically supports reducing trading hours for off-licence outlets at night, seeing it as beneficial for reducing alcohol-related intimate partner violence. They also support reducing trading hours for on-licence venues in suburban areas at night, recommending further reductions to 1 am on weekends/public holidays and 11 pm on weekdays.

 


Key Recommendation:

DPA supports a temporary freeze on new licensed venues in high deprivation areas, noting that many low-income disabled people reside in such communities and are at higher [risk of alcohol] use."

 


Supporting Statement 1:

"Secondly, there are the issues of property damage caused by excessive alcohol use, in this case, the smashing of liquor bottles on streets and footpaths which is unfortunately a common occurrence."

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DPA Submission 2503 Christchurch City Council Local Alcohol Policy (DOCX)

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