1 Introduction
1.1 Legal background
1.2 Scope of the
report
1.3 Sources of information
The Sale of Liquor Amendment Act 1999 introduced a number of major changes concerning the minimum age that people may legally purchase and drink alcohol. Two of these changes came into effect on 1 December 1999. First, the legal minimum age was lowered from 20 years to 18 years with one exception. Previously there had been a number of exceptions to the legal minimum age of 20 years.
Secondly, some alcohol-related offences involving minors became infringement offences where the person may either be prosecuted through the court system, or an infringement notice may be issued. (Those issued with an infringement notice must pay an infringement fee or request a court hearing.) The infringement offences are those involving minors under 18 years old who:
- purchase liquor on or from licensed premises;
- are found in a restricted area on licensed premises;
- are found in any supervised area on licensed premises unless accompanied by a parent or guardian;
- drink alcohol in a public place while not accompanied by a parent or guardian; or
- possess alcoholic drink for consumption in a public place while not accompanied by a parent or guardian.
The 1999 amendment introduced a definition of 'evidence of age documents'. A person who is charged with selling or supplying liquor to a person under 18 years or permitting a person under 18 to be in restricted or supervised areas of licensed premises has a defence if, at the time of the offence, they sighted a recognised 'evidence of age document' that indicated that the person was at least 18 years old. The three recognised 'evidence of age documents' are a passport, a photo driver licence, or a Hospitality Association of New Zealand 18+ card.
This report (the fourth in a series)[1] presents some statistics on the possible effects of the Sale of Liquor Amendment Act 1999, and focuses on the lowering of the purchase age.[2] Most of the statistics presented are updates of those presented in the earlier reports, however, statistics included in the earlier reports are not included in this report if updated information was not
available. A new statistical series of the number of liquor licences has been added in this report.
In the third report of this series, the 2002 statistics were set in context by feedback provided on the perceived effects of lowering the purchase age by Police districts (New Zealand Police, Office of the Commissioner 2003). This information has not been updated or included in this report (except for a comment on the new statistical series of the number of liquor licences).
The statistics presented are mostly limited to those statistics routinely collected on a national basis for various purposes, with information being available for up to five years following the law change. The statistics presented do not explicitly measure the impact of lowering the minimum legal purchase age. Rather, they are indicators, which, when assessed together, give some insight into the possible impact of lowering the purchase age. Changes in indicator levels over time may be due to factors other than lowering the purchase age, such as changes in Police practices or recording practices. For these reasons, these statistics represent only a partial picture of the likely impact of lowering the purchase age.
The sources of the statistical information presented in this report, and the years for which the information was available and presented, are listed below:
| Information | Source | Years |
| Alcohol available for consumption | Statistics New Zealand | 1995– 2004 |
| Number of liquor licences | Liquor Licensing Authority | 1995– 2004 |
| Apprehensions for various types of offences (except disorderly behaviour) | New Zealand Police | 1995– 2004 |
| Apprehensions for disorderly behaviour | New Zealand Police | 1994– 2003 |
| Infringement notices for various types of offences | New Zealand Police | 2000– 2004 |
| Convictions for various types of offences | Ministry of Justice | 1995– 2004 |
| Random roadside breath testing | Land Transport Safety Authority, and Ministry of Transport | 1997– 2004 |
| Prosecutions for various types of offences | Ministry of Justice | 1995– 2004 |
| Drivers involved in crashes | Land Transport Safety Authority, and Ministry of Transport | 1994– 2003 |
| Alcohol-related hospitalisations | New Zealand Health Information Service | 1996– 2003 |
| Stand-downs and suspensions from schools | Ministry of Education | 2000– 2004 |
| Auckland Pseudo Patrons Project | Alcohol and Public Health Research Unit, and Centre for Social and Health Outcomes Research and Evaluation | 2002–2004 |
Footnotes
1 Previous reports are: Lash 2002a, Lash 2002b, and Lash 2004.
2 The previous reports refered to the "drinking age". This report has changed the term to "purchase age" as the main restriction imposed by the legislation is on purchasing alcohol.
