Submission on Alcohol Reform Bill

> download the Submission on Alcohol Reform Bill (PDF, 72KB)

Summary

While the Army’s own ethical position on alcohol has not changed fundamentally over the past century its public position has changed. We believe that it is important that members of the Committee as well as other Members of Parliament are able to gain an appreciation of the nature of this change so that they may come to understand our motivation for making this submission and our very real concern for the influence of alcohol in our national life.

To some extent The Salvation Army’s public position on alcohol has changed with the public discourse and community sentiments around liquor and drinking. To some extent too the Army’s public position on alcohol has led this discourse and these sentiments. A recently published report by the Army titled Contest of Spirits charts the changing debate around alcohol during the Pakeha history of New Zealand and is available online for anyone who is interested.

A century ago it would be fair to characterise The Salvation Army’s position on alcohol as being moralistic with the framing of the debate being around vice and virtue - a perspective which was not exceptional for many Protestant churches of the time. By the middle of the 20th century the public debate around liquor and drinking had shifted to seeing it in medical terms with the invention of the disease of alcoholism. Today the Army and many others who share our concern for the damage done by alcohol see the question of the regulation and promotion of alcohol as a public health issue. We ask that members of the Committee also consider adopting such a perspective.

This submission is made by The Salvation Army Social Policy and Parliamentary Unit. The Unit was established in 2004 by The Salvation Army at its community ministry in Manukau City. The principal purpose of the Unit is to advocate for policies which will alleviate poverty in New Zealand and to undertake research and policy analysis to support this advocacy.