Liquor ban for Countdown store

COUNTDOWN has agreed to a ban on alcohol sales in one of its Dunedin stores after negotiating a settlement with the Dunedin City Council over a breach of liquor law.

DCC licensing inspector Tony Mole said the supermarket giant had yesterday agreed to a suspension, but he declined to give details.

It was subject to the agreement of the Alcohol Regulatory and Licensing Authority.

The DCC had lodged several applications with the authority for offlicence suspensions in Countdown’s Dunedin stores. It is the second time in less than two years Countdown has fallen foul of alcohol advertising rules.

In 2015, Countdown’s central Dunedin store was banned from selling alcohol for three days, after offering illegally discounted alcohol as part of a nationwide promotion.

On the latest applications, a hearing had been set down for August, but after talks with Progressive Enterprises, Mr Mole would apply to replace a group of the charges with a sole representative charge.

The negotiated suspension would apply to just one store.

‘‘I am withdrawing nine of those applications . . . there’ll be one left on the books, and that’ll be to do with the junk mail promotion.’’

On a technicality, two applications against the Mosgiel store were being withdrawn because the store had moved location, making invalid.

The claimed breach of the Sale and Supply of Alcohol Act was advertising material distributed last August featuring an alcohol discount of more than 25%.

A group of applications pertaining to claimed breaches through online advertising were among those to be withdrawn.

Another application, solely against Andersons Bay Countdown, pertaining to advertising limited to that area, would also

the

cases be withdrawn, as it was ‘‘too difficult for me to argue [the case]’’, Mr Mole said.

Countdown alcohol responsibility manager Paul Radich said in an email the advertising material had been a national promotion.

‘‘The purpose of the mailer was to introduce a new national price of the Heineken Light, low alcohol, product.

‘‘Only the Dunedin City Council chose to pursue this matter,’’ Mr Radich said.

eileen.goodwin@odt.co.nz