Richard McGrath: Napier City Councillor on the rejected proposal to close bars an hour earlier - Heather du Plessis-Allan Drive

Napier residents will still be able to dance the night away. 

The City Council has rejected a proposal that would force bars to close an hour earlier – at 2am instead of 3. 

It was part of the city’s draft Local Alcohol Policy. 

Councillor Richard McGrath told Heather du Plessis-Allan that though they had evidence that connected alcohol and trouble, there didn’t seem to be a correlation between that and age. 

He says that in the same time period, there was roughly an equivalent amount of harm in a suburb with two alcohol licenses as there was in the suburb with the nightclub – an area that has up to 30 licenses.  

McGrath says that in his view, there’s no evidence its the clubs and pubs causing the problems as opposed to off-licenses and house parties.  

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