Authorities opposing pair’s liquor renewals

AUTHORITIES are opposed to renewing the liquor licences of three outlets owned by a Mosgiel business couple.

Police, Public Health South and the Dunedin City Council’s licensing inspector have opposed the renewal of liquor licences for Super Liquor Andersons Bay, Super Liquor Kaikorai Valley and Quicker Liquor, in George St.

The business are part of a chain of liquor stores owned by Mosgiel couple Kenneth and Patricia McCarthy.

The McCarthys own three businesses which operate the offlicence liquor stores.

The businesses have faced seven enforcement actions as a result of selling alcohol to minors during policecontrolled purchase operations.

The most recent incident occurred in October 2015, during which the duty manager sold a fourpack of RTDs to a 17yearold who was not asked for identification or his age.

The breach resulted in a 21day suspension for one of Mr and Mrs McCarthy’s businesses.

When contacted yesterday about the opposition, Mrs McCarthy declined to comment, saying it would be unwise ahead of the hearing.

In the hearing’s agenda, Dunedin alcohol harm prevention officer Sergeant Ian Paulin said police opposed all three licences being renewed as they believed Mrs McCarthy was unsuitable to hold them.

Sgt Paulin said Mrs McCarthy had made undertakings to the Alcohol Regulatory & Licensing Authority following the breach of the Sale and Supply of Alcohol Act and had not followed through with them.

Mrs McCarthy was meant to engage with a ‘‘reputable hospitality educator’’.

‘‘On 24 February 2017 Mrs McCarthy has provided agencies with a copy of a training document that she had got her staff to read, and believed this covered her undertaking,’’ Sgt Paulin said.

‘‘This document is titled ‘Duty managers study’ and is written by Claudia Davison [a law student at the University of Otago] . . . This is a generic 10page document that covers a variety of aspects of the Act but in no way is specific to an offlicence. Super Liquor is not mentioned in the main body of the document.

‘‘It is absolutely clear that a university student is not a reputable hospitality educator. Dunedin has three such educators. Police contacted all of them and they have never been engaged by the applicant.’’

Public Health South also opposed the renewal of the licences on similar grounds.

The threeman District Licensing Committee will hear the applications on July 25.

timothy.brown@odt.co.nz