EDITORIAL: Call time on this abuse of booze

9th March 2010

SO OFTEN at the scene of a crime there's the unmistakable smell of booze wafting in the air.

And it is a fair assumption that the bottle used in an unprovoked attack in Wanganui by a bunch of teens at the weekend that left one young man needing hospital treatment was not soft drink. Chances are the young males were affected by this country's most popular drug.

And, as we report on today's front page, the issue of violence and other unruly behaviour on Victoria Ave is nothing new. It was only a few months ago that this paper reported those most affected or witness to the uncivilised acts speaking out, saying they had had enough of the fights, abusive language, vandalism and urinating in shop doorways.

So, what has changed?

Not a lot, if this latest incident and the experience of Armourguard security boss Wayne Watson is anything to go by.

Many will say the solution is obvious - the police need to be more visible. But is it really the answer? Police simply do not have the resources to be on every street corner, in case some drunken lout wants to smash a window, or worse.

It's a fact that alcohol is legal, made and promoted by an array of companies spearheaded by two of the country's biggest and most successful.

The liquor and hospitality industries vigorously defend their territory any time governments look at new restrictions on alcohol sales and promotion.

However, the rate of alcohol abuse among New Zealanders makes it clear the present controls and restrictions are not working.

Far too many people are having their lives harmed by alcohol abuse, and that includes the victims of crime.

Alcohol-fuelled fighting and random attacks are now commonplace in CBD areas across the country each night.

Binge drinking among our young people is alarming, while Kiwis have come to accept post-weekend clean-ups of smashed letterboxes, broken signs and graffiti.

And then there's the carnage on our roads and highways.

Yet, whenever tighter laws surrounding the sale and promotion of alcohol are suggested, liberals jump up and down about the freedom of individuals. They forget about the right of New Zealanders to be protected from intoxicated idiots.

 Isn't that right just as worthy of protecting, if not more so?