NZ Lockout Laws: Will They Reduce Alcohol-Fuelled Violence or Are They a Death Knell for Nightlife?

This article is presented in partnership with the NZ Electoral Commission

Lockout laws are a contentious issue right now, but are they a mechanism to reduce late-night alcohol related violence or a death knell for a city's nightlife? Back in 2010 the Law Commission's major report on the sale of liquor recommended that the country's bars, clubs, and pubs close at 4am and put in place a one-way door policy starting at 2am, meaning if you leave a licensed venue after 2am you can't go back inside, or into any other licensed venue. When the Sale and Supply of Alcohol Act was passed at the end of 2012, the 4am close was in there, but the 2am restriction had dropped off. Great, you think. I'm good to go until 4am.

Well, yes. That's the case in Wellington or Queenstown where the councils don't have local alcohol policies in place. But in Whangarei you'll have to head out before 1am to secure your place in a bar before lockout, and in Palmerston North you'll have to be in the bar by 1.30am.

So why aren't lockout laws consistent across the country? The rules change because in most towns local authorities have their own policies on how late you can stay out and whether you have to be in a bar by a certain time.

The major argument for earlier closing hours is to stop us getting boozed up and hurting each other, or doing something stupid like tripping over our own legless legs and smashing into a curb.

Dr Nigel Millar, the Southern District Health Board Chief Medical Officer told VICE that staff at Dunedin Hospital emergency department often had to deal with abusive and aggressive behaviour from drunk people. "We see the highest presentations of patients under the influence of alcohol from Thursday to Sunday, and the busiest time is usually between 11pm to 3am," said Dr Millar. The most common injuries were related to falls and assaults including head lacerations, facial injuries, wrist and ankle injuries.

The director of Waikato Hospital's emergency department, Dr John Bonning, is sick of treating patients because of alcohol-related violence. He told the New Zealand Herald that he supports bringing closing hours closer to midnight. "Last weekend, I was working with police and saw the kind of alcohol-fuelled violence that needed dogs and Tasers to calm down, it's terrible," Dr Bonning said.

Bonning's colleagues at the Auckland Regional Public Health Service have also called for earlier closing hours, pushing for all bars and restaurants to shut their doors at 1am in an attempt to reduce alcohol-related harm. "The emergency department at Auckland hospital finds that approximately 30-50 percent of overnight attendances, especially during the weekends are related to alcohol use," they wrote in their 2014 submission to the Auckland Council Local Alcohol Policy.

In 2015 the Auckland Council rebuffed calls from medical professionals to tighten policy around lockouts, and kept closing hours to 4am in the central city. But the council is facing increasing pressure from police who, after several late night brawls in the city, are strongly pushing for bars and clubs to stop letting people in from 1.30am and to close by 3am.

Emma Harrison of free paramedic service Wellington Free Ambulance says the organisation is in regular contact with the Wellington Council to reduce alcohol-related harm, but that they don't take a position on lockout policy. "It's our job to help people with whatever is happening. We're not here to judge," she told VICE.

On busy nights Wellington Free Ambulance sets up a "street hospital" on party street Courtenay Place to triage patients there and then, rather than have them admitted to an overrun emergency department at the hospital. It also means their front line ambulances can be kept available for more critical calls. Often, a wasted patient will need a plaster and a sit down. The street hospital sees so much action that it's even got its own TV show. "It's a recipe for carnage!" crows the promo.

Carnage or not, bars in Courtenay Place are under pressure from police to implement a one-way door policy, despite there being no local laws demanding them. Wellington operates under the national default law of 4am closing and city lawmakers have signalled an even more liberal stance. A proposal to increase opening hours to 5am was discussed but shelved by the council last year.

Apparently local police have made no secret of wanting much earlier closing hours. According to Dylan Firth, the Wellington regional manager of Hospitality New Zealand, police have been opposing 4am licence renewals unless the bar in question agrees to lockout conditions.

Firth is of the opinion that the police's blanket approach to policy could put local businesses at risk. "Lawmakers and enforcers are supposed to be separate," Firth said, speaking to VICE. "If these guys don't get a licence, they don't have a business."

Rohan Evans, owner of Auckland live music venue The Wine Cellar, says earlier closing times will definitely make a difference to alcohol-related trouble in the city, but not in the way police are predicting. "It would make the problem far worse," Evans told VICE. "It would take what problems there are and spread them out to the fringes and residential areas."

Evans used to have a 24-hour licence for his bar. After the 2013 law came into effect imposing 4am closures across the country, he noticed an upsurge in trouble as people left bars and clubs around Karangahape Road all at the same time. The bar staff and security had packed up and gone home, meaning there were fewer people around to see and report problems to police.

Evans now closes his bar at the earlier time of 2am to stagger the flow of people out onto the streets. "The thing about having lockout laws is you create a lot of tension in bars if people don't have somewhere else to go," says Evans. "You can't say, 'If you want to carry on you can go to this other place.' They can be a lot more troublesome."

Matt Morrissey, 19, doesn't have an issue with lockout laws in Christchurch where he is studying law at University of Canterbury—because he doesn't got out in town. Living in a hall of residence with 500 people, Morrissey told VICE he is more likely to stay in to party. "It's cheaper and less general hassle–having to Uber, wearing a collared shirt, et cetera," he says. "There's definitely a vibe that house parties are better. At UC they also have these BBQs, which are basically parties put on by the societies and are massively popular. So I guess even the university itself is kind of trying to divert people away from the town scene."

Journalism student Luke Tumaru, 23, regularly hits the clubs in Christchurch on a Saturday night but makes sure he gets there early. With only four 'good' options of places to go out downtown, the queues are long. "If you get into town any time after 10pm you'll be waiting for an hour," Tumaru told VICE. Being in early means he and his mates are usually heading home well before 3am closing time. "When you see the most trouble is coming out of the bar at 1am and people are starting to lose their temper after having too many drinks," says Tumaru.

Tumaru doesn't think a one-way door policy from 1am would have a big impact on a night out for him, but it would prevent him going to see if there was a better vibe in another club. "That's when it would be frustrating, if you wanted to go for a bit of a hop."

Rotorua Lakes Council has some of the strictest rules in the country with a one-way door policy from 1am and 3am closing. The rules have been in operation since December last year but Ruben Parker, a 21-year-old wine science student told VICE he wasn't even aware of the change, and judging from his experience last weekend, it seems some of the bars in town weren't either. "I went out on Friday and they were letting people in until 2am," said Parker. "So I'm not sure if they actually enforce it."

Bars and clubs must follow the laws dictating closing times or risk losing their license. At the end of the night, it is your local councillor, not the bartender, who is making that call for last drinks.

Enrol to vote for this year's Local Elections