2 Alcohol availability
2.1 Alcohol available for consumption
2.1.1 The volume of pure alcohol available for consumption per
person aged 15 years and over
2.1.2 The volume of
alcohol beverage of various types available for consumption
2.2 Liquor licences
2.3 Summary
This chapter analyses three indicators which provide background information on alcohol availability in New Zealand. Trends are examined for two indicators of the amount of alcohol available for consumption, and the number of liquor licences.
2.1 Alcohol available for consumption
Two key indicators of the amount of alcohol available for consumption are reported:
- The volume of pure alcohol available for consumption per person aged 15 years and over; and
- The volume of alcohol beverage of various types available for consumption.
2.1.1 The volume of pure alcohol available for consumption per person aged 15 years and over
This indicator takes in to account the alcohol content of different types of beverages, and the changing size of the population which is responsible for most consumption of alcohol.
The amount of pure alcohol available for consumption per person 15 years and over decreased from 9.3 litres per person in 1995 to a low of 8.7 litres per person in 1998. Since then the volume has tended to increase to 9.2 litres per person in 2004, almost the same as the 1995 figure.
Table 2.1 Pure alcohol available for consumption per person aged 15 years or more, 1995-2004(1)
| Year ended December | Available consumption per person 15 years and over (litres per person) |
| 1995 | 9.287 |
| 1996 | 8.806 |
| 1997 | 8.684 |
| 1998 | 8.672 |
| 1999 | 8.872 |
| 2000 | 8.906 |
| 2001 | 8.833 |
| 2002 | 9.165 |
| 2003 | 8.945 |
| 2004 | 9.199 |
Notes: (1) Alcohol available for consumption is calculated from production for domestic consumption plus imports less re-exports.
(2) Source: Statistics New Zealand 2005.
2.1.2 The volume of alcohol beverage of various types available for consumption
Table 2.2 shows that the total volume of alcoholic beverage available for consumption in the year ended December 2004 was 1.9 percent higher than in 2003. The volume of spirit-based drinks available for consumption increased by 7.3% in the December 2004 year. This increase
followed a 9.8% increase in the previous year, an 11.0% increase 2002, and a 15.4% increase in 2001.
Table 2.2 Alcohol available for consumption, 1995-2004(1)
|
Volume of Available Beverage |
||||||||
|
Table Wine(2) |
Fortified Wine(3) |
Total Wine |
Beer |
Spirit-based Drinks(4) |
Spirits(5) |
Total Spirits and Spirit-based Drinks |
Total |
|
|
Million Litres |
||||||||
| Year ended December |
||||||||
| 1995 | 60.063 | 3.482 | 63.545 | 349.724 | 1.999 | 9.556 | 11.555 | 424.825 |
| 1996 | 62.891 | 3.196 | 66.087 | 337.248 | 3.889 | 8.800 | 12.688 | 416.023 |
| 1997 | 64.366 | 3.119 | 67.485 | 315.598 | 9.185 | 9.653 | 18.838 | 401.921 |
| 1998 | 64.353 | 2.580 | 66.933 | 315.395 | 18.329 | 8.986 | 27.314 | 409.642 |
| 1999 | 69.884 | 2.427 | 72.312 | 316.906 | 20.096 | 8.715 | 28.811 | 418.029 |
| 2000 | 69.697 | 2.150 | 71.847 | 305.611 | 24.509 | 9.705 | 34.214 | 411.672 |
| 2001 | 69.071 | 1.796 | 70.867 | 306.342 | 28.288 | 9.327 | 37.614 | 414.824 |
| 2002 | 76.606 | 1.747 | 78.353 | 314.462 | 31.410 | 9.829 | 41.239 | 434.054 |
| 2003 | 77.831 | 1.310 | 79.141 | 313.459 | 34.479 | 9.431 | 43.909 | 436.509 |
| 2004 | 82.732 | 1.083 | 83.815 | 312.888 | 37.008 | 11.022 | 48.030 | 444.733 |
|
Percentage change from previous December year |
||||||||
| 1996 | 4.7 | -8.2 | 4.0 | -3.6 | 94.5 | -7.9 | 9.8 | -2.1 |
| 1997 | 2.3 | -2.4 | 2.1 | -6.4 | 136.2 | 9.7 | 48.5 | -3.4 |
| 1998 | 0.0 | -17.3 | -0.8 | -0.1 | 99.6 | -6.9 | 45.0 | 1.9 |
| 1999 | 8.6 | -5.9 | 8.0 | 0.5 | 9.6 | -3.0 | 5.5 | 2.0 |
| 2000 | -0.3 | -11.4 | -0.6 | -3.6 | 22.0 | 11.4 | 18.8 | -1.5 |
| 2001 | -0.9 | -16.5 | -1.4 | 0.2 | 15.4 | -3.9 | 9.9 | 0.8 |
| 2002 | 10.9 | -2.7 | 10.6 | 2.7 | 11.0 | 5.4 | 9.6 | 4.6 |
| 2003 | 1.6 | -25.0 | 1.0 | -0.3 | 9.8 | -4.0 | 6.5 | 0.6 |
| 2004 | 6.3 | -17.3 | 5.9 | -0.2 | 7.3 | 16.9 | 9.4 | 1.9 |
Notes: (1) Alcohol available for consumption is calculated from production for domestic consumption plus imports less re-exports. The above table does not include alcoholic beverages produced by households.
(2) Table wine has an alcohol content less than or equal to 14 percent.
(3) Fortified wine has an alcohol content greater than 14 percent.
(4) Spirit-based drinks have an alcohol content less than or equal to 23 percent. They include RTDs (ready-to-drink beverages), beer, and wine, that are spirit-based.
(5) Spirits have an alcohol content greater than 23 percent.
(6) Source: Statistics New Zealand 2005.
Figure 2.1 shows the trends in the volume of alcohol available for consumption for the three main beverage types in the decade from 1995 to 2004. In this period beer was the alcoholic beverage with the largest volume available for consumption. Wine and spirits respectively had the next largest volume available. The volume of beer available decreased in the first two years, but since then has fluctuated at about the same level. The volume of wine fluctuated in the earlier years, but has increased in the last three years. The volume of spirit-based drinks has increased markedly by more than 1750% in the ten year period, so that by 2004 these drinks comprise just over three-quarters of the volume of total spirits.[3]
Figure 2.1 Alcohol available for consumption, 1995-2004
This section presents information on the number of licences (by type of licence) at 30 June each year from 1995 to 2004.
The Sale of Liquor Act 1989 lists four types of licences: on-licences, off-licences, club licences and special licences, which are described below.
- An on-licence authorises the holder of the licence to sell and supply liquor, to any person present on the premises or conveyance described in the licence, for consumption on the premises or conveyance; and to allow the consumption of liquor on the premises or conveyance described in the licence.
- An off-licence authorises the holder of the licence to sell or deliver liquor on or from the premises described in the licence to any person for consumption off the premises.
- A club licence authorises the holder of the licence to sell and supply liquor, on the premises described in the licence, for consumption on the premises, to any member of the club; or any person who is a guest of, and is accompanied by, a member of the club; or any member of any other club with which the holder of the licence has an arrangement for reciprocal visiting rights for members of the clubs.
- A special licence authorises the holder of the licence to sell and supply liquor, on the premises or conveyance described in the licence, to any person attending any occasion or event or series of occasions or events described in the licence.
The number of special licences at 30 June each year is not available, and is therefore excluded from the total shown in Table 2.2.
While the total number of liquor licences increased by 35% in the decade between 1995 and 2004, the different types of licences showed different trends over the decade. The number of on-licences was the largest contributor to the increase, increasing by 56% from 5067 to 7918 over the decade. The number of off-licences also increased across the decade, but at 33% (from 3436 to 4568) the increase was less than for on-licences. The number of club licences showed little change during the decade, fluctuating around an average of 2784.
Table 2.3 Number of liquor licences by type of licence at 30 June 1995-2004
| Year | On-licence | Off-licence | Club licence | Total |
| 1995 | 5067 | 3436 | 2777 | 11280 |
| 1996 | 5422 | 3461 | 2815 | 11698 |
| 1997 | 5551 | 3578 | 2844 | 11973 |
| 1998 | 5264 | 3404 | 2793 | 11461 |
| 1999 | 5533 | 3509 | 2745 | 11787 |
| 2000 | 6039 | 3785 | 2772 | 12596 |
| 2001 | 6546 | 4062 | 2800 | 13408 |
| 2002 | 6988 | 4364 | 2779 | 14131 |
| 2003 | 7438 | 4364 | 2755 | 14557 |
| 2004 | 7918 | 4568 | 2756 | 15242 |
Source: Liquor Licensing Authority
Figure 2.2 Number of liquor licences by type of licence at 30 June 1995-2004
In 2003, some Police districts commented that there were more licensed premises in their districts, which meant that alcohol is generally easier to access for people of all ages. One district felt that there had been a trend of increased numbers of licensed premises prior to the purchase age being lowered, and this was continuing. The figures in Table 2.2 tend to support these perceptions.
The three indicators of alcohol availability show that, in general, over the last decade there were increased amounts of alcohol available and more places to drink and purchase alcohol.
Footnote
3 Spirit-based drinks have only been available since 1995. The volume of these drinks increased markedly between 1995 and 1998, but the increase has slowed since then.
