Having a post-work drink at the lakefront may become a fineable offence when a new alcohol bylaw comes into effect in Queenstown Lakes. 

Rules banning alcohol after 6pm in public places in Wānaka, Hāwea, Frankton and Queenstown were approved by councillors by a narrow 6-5 margin at Thursday’s (August 10) council meeting.

A hearings panel made up of councillors recommended a handful of bylaw changes, the change to the overnight alcohol ban’s start time from 8pm-8am to 6pm-6am the most notable.

Councillor Lisa Guy said 6pm was the “middle of the day” during summertime.

“A lot of our families do not take their children into licensed areas to drink but they may like to go and have a picnic and have a drink.”

She questioned whether the rule would “perhaps harshly penalise” the majority of residents.

Councillor Melissa White also asked whether the hearings panel’s recommendations - which differ from the draft bylaw which went out for public consultation - may have “missed the mark a bit”.

She was one of a handful of councillors to question whether there was enough evidence to back up all the recommended changes.

Deputy mayor Quentin Smith, who was the chair of the hearings panel on the bylaw, defended its recommendations.

He said they were based on information and data presented by stakeholders including NZ Police during the hearings.

“We tried to react appropriately to the evidence that was before us,” he said. 

“If you allocate a bracket as cleanly as possible [the alcohol ban] would have been between 4.30 in the afternoon and 4.30 in the morning,” he said. “The fact we’ve gone 6pm-6am is actually a softer approach.”

After some debate, chief executive Mike Theelen reminded councillors they had empowered a subset of councillors (in addition to Quentin, they included Gavin Bartlett, Craig Ferguson and Cody Tucker) to be the hearings panel.

“I think it’s largely incumbent on councillors to follow the lead of the hearings panel unless they believe there is considerable risk with those decisions.”

Councillor Lyal Cocks, who voted against the bylaw, told the Wānaka App that while he wanted to respect the hearing panel’s recommendations he was concerned the bylaw could be challenged due to a lack of evidence.

“The Local Government Act is quite clear that you need evidence to support bylaws. We are treading on dangerous ground.”

He said he did not see any strong evidence for changes like bringing the hours back from 8pm to 6pm or for a permanent alcohol ban in Wānaka on Christmas and Boxing Day.

“I’m all for safer communities but we’ve also got to take into account the rights of law-abiding citizens,” he said.

PHOTO: Supplied