Finally we can report that the Alcohol Reform Bill has passed into law. The Alcohol Reform Bill passed its third and final reading in Parliament on 11^th December 2012. The new Act, known as the Sale and Supply of Alcohol Act 2012, received Royal Assent on Tuesday 18^th December 2012, concluding the four-year debate.

Disappointingly, Parliament voted to retain the minimum purchase age at 18 years on the 30^th August, 2012. The remaining aspects of the Bill underwent their committee stage debates on the 6^th December and as expected all opposition supplementary order papers aimed at strengthening the Bill were voted down. Voting occurred on 11^th December 2012 and the Sale and Supply of Alcohol Act passed its third reading, becoming law following the Royal Assent.

The Committee of the whole House divided the Alcohol Reform Bill into 3 Bills with new titles:

-Sale and Supply of Alcohol Act 2012
-Local Government (Alcohol Reform) Amendment Act 2012 
-Summary Offences (Alcohol Reform) Amendment Act 2012

The majority of the sections included in the Sale and Supply of Alcohol Act 2012 will have a 6-12 month time lag between the date of Royal Assent (18/12/12) and commencement. This means that we will not see any of the substantial changes come into effect until 2014.

Click here to see the schedule of the commencement of the Sale and Supply of Alcohol Act 2012.

(Updated Feb 2013)
More Information:    Background       Info on the Key Issues  

3 December 2013: Event-Book release & briefing paper launch -
Award winning journalist Ann Dowsett Johnston spoke about her timely and thought-provoking book Drink: The Intimate Relationship Between Women and Alcohol.  (to purchase a copy of this book go to www.womensbookshop.co.nz)

Alcohol Healthwatch launched it's new Policy Briefing Paper - Women and Alcohol in Aotearoa/New Zealand.
Held: 10.00am - 12pm, Tuesday 3rd December 2013 in  Parnell, Auckland 

Michael Cameron's research report
The Locally Specific Impacts of Alcohol Outlet Density in the North Island of New Zealand 2006-2011 http://www.alcohol.org.nz/sites/default/files/research-publications/pdfs/NI%20Outlet%20Density%20Report%20FA.pdf