Genial veteran of liquor tussles
He was an engaging raconteur with the memory of an elephant and a great fund of anecdotes.
James William (Jim) Thompson, who has died aged 89, was a veteran of a long and sometimes bitter political tussle over the liquor laws. From 1964 till 1988, Thompsonwas the director of the Liquor Industry Council, which represented the various interests – breweries, hotel owners, licensing trusts, wine and spirit merchants – that made up what was known as the licensed trade.
In a countrywhere, historically, the anti-liquor lobby had been one of themost active and influential political pressure groups, that placed Thompson in the front line of conflict over such issues as the drinking age and hotel trading hours.
A familiar figure at parliamentary select committee hearings and commissions of inquiry on liquor-related matters, he was noted for his rigorously researched submissions and persuasive advocacy. His aim was to present the liquor industry in a positive light, emphasising its social and economic benefits, while simultaneously acknowledging the harm alcohol could do and trying to mitigate its adverse effects.
His tenure at the Liquor Industry Council coincided with the gradual liberalisation of previously archaic drinking laws. These reforms included the introduction of 10 o’clock pub closing in 1967, the lowering of the drinking age from 21 to 20 (it was later dropped again, to 18), the advent of BYO licences for cafes, and the first moves towards the legalisation of beer and wine sales in supermarkets.
The result, ultimately, was amore sophisticated social environment, where women aswell as men could enjoy a drink in civilised surroundings, wherewine was treated as a natural accompaniment to food, and the infamous six o’clock swill retreated into history. But none of it came easily, and Thompson had to battle the perception that the industry was interested only in consumption, with no regard for social consequences – which was certainly not true as far as Thompson was personally concerned.
Erudite, open and genial, hemanaged to remain untarnished by the negative public image associated with the widely disliked ‘‘booze barons’’, and was considered pre-eminent among the small group that could be described in those days as professional lobbyists.
Thompson was notable for adopting a holistic view of the liquor trade that went far beyond finding ways to sell more beer. He took a prominent role in the tourism and travel sectors, in which the two main brewing companieswere heavily involved by virtue of their hotel interests, and he promoted road safety initiatives as president of the Defensive Driving Council. He was also active in the Litter Control Council (later renamed Keep New Zealand Beautiful), and helped establish the Alcohol Advisory Council.
He regarded thiswork as a demonstration of good corporate citizenship. It was an enlightened approach that served his employers well, even if they occasionally questioned whether Thompson’s extramural activities benefited their bottom line.
Thompson was a lifelong Wellingtonian. Born in working-class Petone, an only child, he attended Hutt Valley High School and obtained anma with honours in political science from Victoria Universitywith a thesis on the history of the Public Service Association.
As a young man he served as private secretary to John ‘‘Gentleman Jack’’ Marshall, minister of justice in the National government led by Sid Holland. It was while working at Parliament that he met his wife Judith, who worked in the office of another up-and-coming National politician, Tom Shand.
The contacts Thompson acquired in Parliament served himwell. He was close to politicians on both sides of the House and many became friends. Keith Holyoake was an occasional visitor to the Thompson home, where Jim, Judith and their three children saw a relaxed, affable side of the long-serving National prime minister that belied his popular image as pompous and aloof. Thompson also became a trusted confidante of Labour leader Norman Kirk.
He had a natural affinity with journalists and was adroit at cultivating media contacts, though never crudely manipulative. He was an engaging raconteur with thememory of an elephant and a great fund of anecdotes.
An astute and sometimes cynical observer of politics and its vanities, he had seen it all. He once remarked that even the most idealistic politician was liable to be seduced by the trappings of power the moment he or she sank for the first time into the plush upholstery of a chauffeur-driven government limo.
He had little time for the baubles of office himself, and twice turned down royal honours.
Away from work, his great love, aside from his wife and children, was literature. He was a voracious reader with a particular fondness for the work of F Scott Fitzgerald, the poet e e cummings and the American journalist A J Liebling.
Author and journalist Gordon Mclauchlan, who died last year, was a lifelong friend. They metwhile working at Parliament, and swapped books every Christmas for 60 years. Mclauchlan, himself a prodigious consumer of books, marvelled that Thompson never gave him a book he had already read.
Thompson was never entirely convinced of the benefits of the free market, and quit the Liquor Industry Council in 1988 after a shakeup resulted in the industry being taken over by corporate interests that didn’t share his world view. It wasn’t the end of his association with the industry, as he served for several years as amember of the Liquor Licensing Authority.
He experienced adverse health after the death of his wife in 2005, and moved into the Rita Angus retirement village in Kilbirnie. More recently he became a resident of Te Hopai, Newtown. He remained intellectually sharp to the end, and enjoyed nothing more than discussing politics and analysing current events against the backdrop of his vast personal experience and first-hand knowledge. –