Frustrated at the proliferation of liquor stores, South Auckland advocacy groups and health officials want an urgent review of licensing laws - and are asking questions about a licensing commissioner with historical ties to the alcohol industry.
Broken glass outside a Manurewa liquor store. Photo: RNZ / Kim Baker Wilson
Three bottles of Corona beer and their dregs sit at the foot of a power pole beneath a collection of red bandanas on Māngere East's Vine Street, a short distance from Middlemore Hospital. The items serve as a memorial to 26-year-old Arthur Brown, who was shot outside these shops in the early hours of 10 March, 2019.
As I photograph the memorial, it strikes me how important Brown must have been to his friends and family, given that two years since his death they are still gathering to toast a brother and a mate.
The presence of recently drained glass bottles, however, points to another issue.
The grievers would have had eight outlets within a 2km radius from which to purchase this Mexican-brewed pale lager. In future they may only need to walk a few metres because, despite the existing abundance of choice, a new liquor store might be opening next to Vine Street's 24/7 laundromat.
Just over a kilometre away, on Wickman Way, is a Thirsty Liquor store. Its licence renewal application has just been approved, despite objections from police, public health professionals, a high school principal and local residents.
A memorial to 26 year old Arthur Brown, outside the Vine Street shops in Māngere East. Photo: Justin Latif
Shirl'e Fruean lives halfway between Wickman Way and Vine Street and was attending a protest outside the proposed store on 16 March.
"There's been a murder and a suicide in the park here," she said. "You see people walking around the neighbourhood drinking and we get teenagers waiting outside stores, asking adults to buy alcohol for them, so the last thing we want is to see more drunk people around our community."
A performing arts tutor and accomplished musician, Fruean says she is worried the increasing numbers of liquor stores communicates an unhealthy message to the youth she works with, as well as to her own young children.
"I don't want them to think alcohol is the main thing in Māngere but with so many stores here unfortunately it shows that's all we're about - even though we're not."
Her concerns are backed by research. Auckland Regional Public Health's medical officer of health Nick Eichler said international and New Zealand evidence was clear that more liquor stores meant more people being harmed by alcohol.
According to the health service's analysis, South Auckland has a much higher density of off-license outlets than in other parts of the city.
"The bottle stores don't steal business from each other, rather they create new business as they induce more drinking and more hazardous drinking," Eichler said.
"If you compare different areas in New Zealand with similar levels of deprivation and similar ethnicity profiles, and just look at how many bottle stores there are, and you will see lower rates of harm in those areas [with fewer stores]."
Shirl'e Fruean and other Māngere residents protesting outside the proposed Vine Street liquor store. Photo: Justin Latif
Community calls for District Licensing commissioner to step down
For the last seven years, Communities Against Alcohol Harm has been fighting against the opening of liquor stores in South Auckland. But the success rate is relatively low, despite help from a barrister with expertise in local government law.
When it was revealed that one of the District Licensing Committee commissioners, Katia Fraser, had previously represented alcohol business clients as a lawyer while at the same time working as a Licensing Committee commissioner, Communities Against Alcohol Harm members were shocked.
Lobby group member Reverend Emily Worman said her organisation was deeply concerned that Auckland Council not only reappointed Fraser to the licensing committee but promoted her to chief commissioner, a role which requires her to oversee the 11 other committee panellists.
"We've been fighting in this space for years, and it's exhausting," Worman said. "Seeing Katia Fraser being appointed as the chief DLC commissioner is just another example of how this system works against our community and our very real concerns."
Reverend Emily Worman Photo: RNZ / Māni Dunlop
Worman said she was particularly concerned about the decision from the commission, chaired by Fraser, on the Thirsty Liquor Wickman Way store.
"Just last year we had 159 local people object to a liquor store which sits opposite two large schools, and yet that licence was renewed."
It was not only locals raising concerns. In a 2019 letter to Auckland Council, Auckland Regional Public Health director Dr William Rainger asked that Fraser's appointment to the commission be "revoked".
The letter stated: "Ms Fraser's involvement with the alcohol industry ... is such that she cannot perform her duties as a Commissioner without at least the appearance of bias."
Along with Rainger's letter to council, three other letters were sent; from Communities Against Alcohol Harm, Māori warden David Ratu and the Ōtara Gambling and Alcohol Action Group, all expressing concern about the risk of a conflict of interest.
Section 193 of the Supply and Sale of Alcohol Act says a person must not be appointed to a commissioner role if, due to their involvement with the alcohol industry, they can't perform their duties "without actual bias or the appearance of bias". Eichler says that is the basis on which the regional public health service complained about Fraser.
"We had concerns she was acting as a legal advisor to alcohol industry clients, in other areas of the country, while also being a district licensing commissioner here," he says.
"I think it would be reasonable for someone to think there was some kind of conflict of interest for acting on both sides of the aisle."
Red wine glass and glass of light beer Photo: 123RF
'We were not shown those letters'
Auckland councillor Josephine Bartley was in charge of selecting the licensing commissioners for a new three-year term beginning in 2020.
She says council officers never showed her the letters during the selection process, but that Fraser was one of the few lawyers who applied for a role, making her a particularly strong candidate.
"We were not shown those letters, and maybe that would have changed our minds," she says.
"There's a whole selection process that is quite robust and thorough, and I was satisfied with Katia's explanation that she did not have any interests that would stop her from being on the DLC. For the chief commissioner role, that required specific legal expertise and experience and that is what we had to consider."
Fraser declined to comment when contacted for this story, instead referring inquiries to Auckland Council.
In a statement, Auckland Council general manager for democracy and engagement Kenneth Aiolupotea said the council was careful to ensure that its selection process was fair and robust to all candidates, and that all candidates were treated the same way.
"If a complaint or concern had been raised about a candidate but had been fully investigated and concluded to the council's satisfaction, no information regarding that complaint or concern was provided to the selection panel. However, all candidates were thoroughly questioned around conflicts of interest, both actual or perceived at the commencement of each interview."
A system-wide issue prompts call for reform
Councillor Bartley argued the Sale and Supply of Alcohol Act, passed by the National government in 2012, was the real problem.
"The legislation isn't strong enough to enable the DLC to prioritise the reduction of community harm. At the moment, the current legislation doesn't give them much to go off, and until you have a local alcohol plan [currently being appealed by two supermarket businesses], you can't get much traction."
Auckland Regional Health public health medicine specialist Dr Nick Eichler. Photo: Supplied/ ARPHS
Eichler agreed. The regional public health service's concerns went beyond who was on the committee, "to the way the whole system works", he said.
"There's been an incredible amount of work by lots of good people at Auckland Council, communities, the police and ourselves to develop the local alcohol plan and Auckland Council should have the autonomy to put it through, but the Act doesn't protect it from the alcohol industry tying it up in endless appeals, which is where it still sits."
He said the judicial nature of the commission's hearings also disadvantaged local residents who wanted to raise concerns.
"This is huge money for the alcohol industry, so spending a lot of money on hiring top-tier lawyers to cross-examine community objectors in the DLC is pocket change for them. And that really prevents communities feeling empowered to speak to these proceedings."
Change might be on the horizon. Justice Minister Kris Faafoi recently announced a review of the law was being considered, though its timing and scope was yet to be determined.
For Worman and the other members of Communities Against Alcohol Harm, the review cannot come fast enough. She said it was infuriating that decision makers seemed indifferent to what alcohol was doing to already disadvantaged places like Māngere.
"We see for ourselves what all the reports and research tell us - more access to alcohol means more harm. The community simply wants a genuine stake in this process. So why are we being ignored?"
Local Democracy Reporting is a public interest news service supported by RNZ, the News Publishers' Association and NZ On Air.