Hon Peter Dunne's Keynote Address to ALAC Working Together Conference 2010
Telstra Events Centre, Manukau
9.40am, Thursday, 6 May 2010
Key points:
* “… while many people drink without harming themselves or others, the misuse of alcohol by some results in considerable health, social and economic costs”.
* “…the Government’s focus will be on workable, rather than feel-good, solutions, and will uphold the balance I spoke of last year between the rights of the overwhelming majority of New Zealanders who enjoy a drink without any prospect of personal or social harm, and dealing with the specific problems associated with problem drinking by a minority.
* “Our history …has been riddled with alcohol laws that New Zealanders have scoffed at as unworkable, and therefore have honoured more in the breach, than reality. There is no point putting our country in this position yet again.”
* “When the law is an ass, people will ignore it.”
* “The common thread to all of the (alcohol law) debates that I can recall has been the conscience vote which has often produced perverse, unworkable results, on occasion, completely contrary to what Parliament thought it was doing.”... Read the full text of this article.
