They’re not wowsers – these folk have a point
Igrew up in Brooklyn when it was ‘‘dry’’. It was illegal to sell alcohol, and the nearest pub was in town. There were no restaurants or bars, and at nights the place was deserted. Then the Penthouse theatre opened. Restaurants and cafes followed, and Brooklyn became the desirable suburb it is today.
For suburbs that were ‘‘wet’’ back then, instead of the smaller bars and cafes one can visit now, they often had a solitary cavernous booze barn selling limited varieties of alcohol. According to my father, the people responsible for this state of affairs – which meant he had to drive to the pub – were ‘‘wowsers’’. These were apparently sober, religious, elderly people who were hellbent on stopping the world from having fun.
What I didn’t know at the time was that the alcohol industry was also quite happy with this situation. Having a few large watering holes selling high volumes of alcohol under a duopoly was good for business. Though selling food with alcohol in smaller civilised places made good sense, it didn’t make the same money as booze barns.
So, when I heard that recently more than 500 people had objected to a planned Bottle-O bottle store in Khandallah, I wondered if the residents had a good point or whether they’d be wowsers and Nimbys intent on stopping people having fun.
Of the 538 objectors to Khandallah’s planned bottle store, about 370 were excluded. One of the main reasons for the exclusion appeared to be that these objectors lived more than one kilometre from the proposed bottle store. So what? People from all around the area use the village where the bottle store wants to do business.
The main reason for objections was that the bottle store would make Khandallah a less pleasant place. The store would be close to school bus stops, and could sell low-cost, ready-to-drink spirits (RTDs) attracting not just students but ‘‘undesirables’’ from outside.
The availability of cheap RTDs, which can contain up to 10 per cent alcohol, has been identified as a major problem with younger drinkers. The previous government considered tough legislation until massive lobbying by alcohol
interests saw plans dropped and the industry encouraged to self-regulate.
For my sins, I turned up to the three-day Wellington District Licensing Committee hearing over the Khandallah bottle store, which was moved to the Renouf Foyer in the Michael Fowler Centre thanks to the intense public interest in the issue. I pre-loaded on coffee and stayed for as long as I could keep awake, which was just over an hour.
But I was present when a smart objector, who had done some homework, showed how he believed the new store could undercut local opposition, including a supermarket, with cheap beer, spirits and RTDs. This was because the potential owner ran several other stores in poorer areas and would be able to buy in bulk. The objector also pointed out the potential for large numbers of specials that could be offered, making already cheap liquor even cheaper.
This low-cost, high-volume store sounded a far cry from the boutique-type bottle stores one might expect to find in a suburb like Khandallah. The fact that the objector was a former regional manager of a major brewery, so knew the business well, added weight to his objection.
Even worse, for some objectors, the garish bright green Bottle-O branding would lower the tone of the delightful Khandallah village. Amused as I was at the discussion of aesthetics at a booze hearing, I suspect the good residents of Khandallah have a point.
This lowcost, highvolume store sounded a far cry from the boutique type bottle stores one might expect to find in a suburb like Khandallah.
Go to South Auckland, or even poorer areas of Wellington, and you will see a plethora of ghastly large stores selling discount booze. Research has shown that deprived areas have more bottle stores and fewer public facilities such as playgrounds. Khandallah is far from a deprived area, but the residents have shown that, if a community organises, it can have a say in how it develops.
I don’t think citizens objecting to low-cost liquor outlets is wowserism. Khandallah already has a pub and a good selection of alcohol available at the local supermarket.
Residents of poorer areas may not have the time and resources that the citizens of Khandallah have, but I hope they will take a leaf out of their book and keep a very close eye on attempts to make wet areas already well-served with low-cost alcohol barns even wetter.
So what will happen with the Khandallah store? The licensing decision is expected in about a month. But with mayor Justin Lester, Onslow-Western ward councillor Diane Calvert and
O¯ ha¯ riu MP Greg O’Connor all opposed to the new store, I would say the locals stand a good chance of having their squeaky wheel oiled and winning their case. Stay tuned.