This is an important social issue and bitchy politics and politicians are not needed.
Oh. what am I talking about? The New Zealand alcohol reform legislation and the successive debates prior to legislation.
We have had some (wimpy) resolutions so far where our learned? leaders didn't outlaw the dangerous and society- crippling RTDs and alco-pops thereby putting many more billions into the pockets of unscrupulous liquor manufacturers.
Now we have the legal drinking age discussions.
My question (again) is: Why is the alcohol reform legislation a political party issue?
It is not politics.
It is social responsibility.
Labour and National are at loggerheads over this which is stupid.
The issues and their resolution should be the individual responsibility of the people that have been elected to govern.
It seems that Labour is prepared to make it a conscience vote but National (Government) is taking a party line over the split age issue (18 in on-premise and 20 for off-premise purchase).
The Labour spokesperson I saw on TV was OK with 18 for on-premise citing the responsibilities of landlords and what they have to lose by being lax but that off-premise with the proliferation of 'hole-in-the-wall licences is where most of the problems arise (hello! RTD's and alco-pops get sold here don't they?).
The National spokesperson, Jamie Lee- Ross argued against this with what he thought was a strong argument. He said that if the election age hadn't been lowered to 18 he wouldn't have been elected to local council.
What?
This was the argument?
Looking at him and what he was saying and had said on previous occasions I felt that that statement alone gave it to Labour.
