Police are investigating after dodgy submissions were made to the Hastings District Council about liquor licensing.
An audit by the council has found at least a third of the submissions were illegitimate, raising questions about the process nationwide.
Havelock North bars have a vested interest in staying open until 3am, so when council called for submissions on alcohol policy the bars got as many people as possible to fill them in.
"[The forms] are not going to get filled out unless they're ready," says bar owner Alex Kersjes.
So they filled them in and then got people to sign them.
"We would have gone through those forms with them and engaged people in discussion about what the issue was," says Mr Kersjes.
But some people did not know what they were signing. One Havelock North man contacted the Hastings District Council after receiving an acknowledgment form, saying he had been bribed with a free jug of beer. The man did not want to be identified – Havelock North is a small community – but he said he had no idea that what he was filling out was a council submission, and he did not like the tactics the barmaid had used.
Hastings mayor Lawrence Yule does not like them either.
"It's completely inappropriate, and the council officers did bring it up as part of the process," says Mr Yule. "I would imagine that also helped completely discredit those photocopied forms."
The man's submission was retracted, and the council then carried out an audit. It found about a third of submissions were genuine, about a third of people could not be reached to have their submission verified. The rest had either provided false details, had not given contact details or had not made a submission at all.
"Over this process I've had one individual meet me and effectively try to lobby me about it. I've said, 'That's not appropriate. I can't be part of it,'" says Mr Yule.
The council says the submissions process is about quality, not quantity, and that it discounted forms that appeared to have been photocopied or filled in en-masse.
Yet Mr Kersjes disagrees with that approach.
"I think that's outrageous. If people sign it, it is not for the council to decide about their view. They have shared their opinion and it's not for council to decide that that is not a valid view," he says.
The forms were provided by Hospitality New Zealand and have been made available around the country as other councils carried out the same process.
Alcohol Healthwatch chairperson Rebecca Williams says that other councils might want to look into what happened with their submissions.
"About 30 councils have already processed their local alcohol policies. So perhaps some sort of audits back through their policies, some sort of spot check, is needed," says Ms Williams.
The police have been made aware of what happened in Hawke's Bay and say that though it is not a criminal offence, they are still looking into it.
The council has meanwhile released its draft policy on alcohol, which sees closing time staying at 3am, but that is expected to be appealed.
3 News
source: newshub archive
