A major issue that has blown up here again in New Zealand over the last two weeks is our drinking culture.
Rugby League staged a test match at Eden Park, Auckland which resulted in unsavoury scenes both at the ground & outside.
Since then there has been a debate on why it happened. First it was a Rugby League problem then people have said it is an Auckland problem. One editorial even pointed to an example set at an event here in Christchurch. Now there is a push for events to have low alcohol beer.
Seems a lot of hot air by people who don't deal with the situations on the front line.
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First to blame one sport or its supporters is totally off the mark.
Second using low alcohol beer won't change a thing. At best it will do what low tar cigarettes did. People had more to make up their fix. Or they will drink even more prior.
As some have correctly identified it is our drinking culture here in New Zealand that is the real problem.
Pre loading or getting absolutely pissed by drinking lots & fast just before an event is the most common issue.
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Now the example quoted in one editorial of been how to deal with the issue of out of control drinking was off the mark. Yes at the event not much went wrong, but the potential was huge. As one manger said "we were lucky the weather was not hot". Scattered around the edges of that event outside the fenced area was a huge amount of alcohol bottles of all types where people had pre loaded.
This issue was compounded by confusion over whether the liquor licence extended to the wider area of private property owned by the organizers. This made it harder to enforce the police requirement of no drinking in areas associated with the event. At one stage the police were called but never arrived to deal with it.
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Then there is the issue of teens drinking who then attack police when they arrive to disperse them. This has been highlighted in the last few weeks in areas where alcohol bans are in place with social media & facebook in particular used to organize illegal gatherings to drink.
As the advert here says, "its not the drinking but how we drink". This culture has come from the days of the 6 o'clock swill where all licensed premises in the country shut at 6 pm. So people used to finish work at about 4.30 pm go down the pub then drink as fast as possible, then buy some flagons & head home. That sort of drinking did not change once closing times were extended to 10.30pm & now with much later closing & all kinds of new alcohol available the culture just hasn't changed. Drink fast & get as pissed as fast as you can.
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One thing that the military taught you was how to drink over long periods. If you hammered it like you did when younger you wouldn't last & also everything you did was watched. I see it now on ANZAC day where most of us spend all day drinking but never quite get falling down drunk. It becomes part of your make up if you stay any length of time or your disciplinary record starts to dog you.
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The problem at events is though that in New Zealand the venues are reluctant to pay for the required security let alone extra to impact on the drinking or other crime nearby. On top of that everything is so PC that you might identify a problem approaching(& some of us usually do) but venue policy is to let all in after a cursory search, only to be evicting(if allowed) those identified before they even got to the venue within half an hour.
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It creates issues for security & the venue. So what if the patron has already paid for their ticket. Bad luck. If they have over indulged that is their problem. People will get the message real quick if they are loosing the money they paid for tickets.
The drinking prior to venues needs to be hit hard.
There has to be a change in our drinking culture not just for the Rugby World Cup but over all. It will be hard though as recent results on people attitudes to drink driving have shown. Most people believe they will not get caught now after years of the campaign resulting in an effective change in attitude.
http://www.foxhoundsecurity.co.nz
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