City bar owners ‘terrified’ of police
Bar owners in Wellington’s party zone are now so ‘‘terrified’’ of law enforcement that they are loath to call an ambulance for drunk patrons for fear of attracting police attention, a nightlife kingpin says.
Bar owner Nick Mills made the claim to the city’s District Licensing Committee yesterday as he sought an alcohol licence for his Siglo bar on Courtenay Place.
‘‘We’re now terrified of police – they’re now the opposition, not the ally,’’ Mills said.
He told the hearing he had heard of a rival bar owner putting a worse-for-wear patron, who may have required medical attention, out on the street, rather than calling an ambulance and attracting the gaze of police officers.
Under cross-examination, Mills reiterated the claim he and other bar owners have made that police were forcibly trying to change the law to get a Sydney-style lockout policy in place.
Earlier this month, bar owners around Courtenay Place accused police of trying to impose a oneway door policy on the capital’s party precinct by objecting to every 4am licence renewal.
A one-way door policy would stop anyone entering a bar after a set time, such as 2am or 3am. Those already inside at the cut-off time would be allowed to stay until the 4am closing time.
Police want a 3am lockout for Siglo in an effort to curb street violence and disorder in the area.
Mills’ family employs 160 people in its group of businesses that includes Bettys, Public, Hummingbird, Boston, Edison’s Superette, The Tasting Room and Spruce Goose.
Courtenay Place was nothing like it used to be, he said, and a one-way door policy would have ‘‘serious fallout’’ for local businesses, as seen in Sydney.
When asked by Wellington police’s harm reduction officer, Sergeant Damian Rapira-Davies, whether Courtenay Place was less dangerous now than in the past, Mills said in the late 1980s, there was a ‘‘strong sort of mafia situation’’ in the capital. ’’It was a very difficult town to operate in.’’
Mills said the Courtenay Place strip, which can draw up to 15,000 people on a busy night, had become safer and less seedy since then.
During the drafting of Wellington City Council’s Local Alcohol Policy in 2013, council officers considered a one-way door policy but ruled it out.
When questioned by RapiraDavies as to whether he felt police were unfairly targeting bar owners, Mills said the council had made its decision on the local alcohol policy and police were now trying to change the law.
Two bars on Courtenay Place and Cuba St had already voluntarily accepted a one-way-door policy, but Mills was concerned that Siglo would suffer financially if it was the first bar to comply with the lockout restrictions.
The hearing continues.