In this edition we update you on community action in Porirua and introduce you to a report about women and alcohol trends. You can read about a successful pilot project for at-risk youth in Auckland and we announce an alcohol research seminar coming to Auckland and Wellington in November - mark your calendar! 

The Sale and Supply of Alcohol Act 2012 will be fully in place in December and there are new resources and training available to help you understand the changes. As usual, you can read about upcoming conferences too.

We’d love to hear from you. If you have an article for Ease Up (maximum word count 300 words) or if you would like to highlight an upcoming event, email details to enquiries@hpa.org.nz.

Kathy Compton

Editor, Health Promotion Agency

The Alcohol Regulatory and Licensing Authority (ARLA) has rejected an application for a bottle store in Fantame Street, Cannons Creek, across the road from Russell School.

Readers of Ease Up will be aware of the community battle which has run for nearly two years. In November 2011 and again in May 2012, the Porirua community came together to fight against changes to the store’s liquor licence. When the owner of the store decided to shut up shop, residents were delighted. However, the building owners decided to apply for a liquor licence of their own and the Porirua community group rallied yet again to protect its neighbourhood from alcohol related harm.

ARLA held a two-day hearing in early August about the new licence application after receiving 138 opposing submissions. There were no submissions in support. ARLA’s decision was announced in late August.

Eleven community representatives gave evidence at the hearing, along with Police and medical representatives. “Each one of these people did us proud, and spoke passionately and convincingly on our behalf. There can be no doubt that the Authority got a very clear message - a message that was repeated over and over as each person spoke!” says Matt Crawshaw, spokesperson for the Porirua community group.

A project which helps at-risk youth improve their resilience to adverse alcohol and other drug behaviours has had positive results.

There has been a significant reduction in potential reoffending among young people who have completed the Police initiated programme reports Constable Marc van Kriekan who has run the pilot. He has used  the Youth Offending Risk Screening Tool (YORST) to measure the risk before and after young people have attended the course.

Safe Lifestyles Influencing Communication and Change (SLICC) ran its final pilot programme in August in Otara. The four-week programme focuses on raising awareness and changing attitudes.

While young people attend the Monday evening intervention sessions, their parents and caregivers attend group sessions. Both groups come together on Wednesday evenings to learn about the effects of drugs and alcohol, talk with reformed addicts and hear about the tough realities dealt with by police, including the serious crash unit.

The young people who took part in the HPA funded pilot programmes were selected as a requirement to avoid prosecution under the youth justice system. The sessions were facilitated by psychologist Sean Sullivan and counsellor Peter Thorburn.

Constable van Krieken says five courses have run since August 2011 in Auckland. He would now like to extend it to other areas. He says anyone interested in running the course is welcome to contact him at marc.vankrieken@police.govt.nz.

A report examining women’s alcohol drinking patterns and alcohol-related harm over time is now available on the HPA website.

The report summarises trends of women’s alcohol consumption from a series of national alcohol-related surveys between 1995 and 2011. It also provides information about trends for selected harm measures for alcohol (hospitalisation and death attributed to alcohol, and motor vehicle crashes and prosecutions related to alcohol) over a similar time period.

The report includes a review of New Zealand research on women’s drinking and associated harm. HPA commissioned the report from the Social and Health Outcomes Research and Evaluation group (SHORE) of Massey University.

Mark your calendars for an alcohol research seminar coming to Auckland and Wellington in November.

Violence to Vibrancy: How can we make this our new reality? will be presented by Assoc. Prof. Peter Miller, Deakin University, Australia, and Dr Michael Cameron, University of Waikato. It is co-hosted by the HPA and Alcohol Healthwatch.

Associate Professor Peter Miller has been involved in studies in Australia that have measured the effectiveness of alcohol-related crime prevention measures in Geelong and Newcastle. Peter will share insights, data and findings. He has 12 years’ experience in the alcohol industry as a bouncer and is realistic about what needs to be done to reduce harm.

Dr Michael Cameron from the National Institute of Demographic and Economic Analysis, University of Waikato will discuss the research HPA recently released about the local impacts of alcohol outlet density in the North Island. He will share insights about the impacts that density of alcohol outlets can have in terms of social harms, such as police events and motor vehicle accidents.

This seminar will be of wide interest and is particularly relevant for anyone working in local alcohol policy and licensing. Registrations are now open. Venues and other details will be advised soon.

Wellington: Wednesday 6 November 2013, 9.30am to 1.00pm. Register with Anne a.jarosch@hpa.org.nz

Auckland: Friday 8 November 2013, 9.30am to 1.00pm. Register with Amy amy@ahw.org.nz

District Licensing Committee (DLC) training workshops KnowHow

Local Government New Zealand (LGNZ) in partnership with the Ministry of Justice, will deliver a training programme about the functions, responsibilities and operation of District Licensing Committees (DLCs). The training workshops will run in October to December 2013.

The provisions relating to the functions of a DLC under the new Act take effect from 18 December 2013 so this training will be timely for members of a DLC, staff and other interested parties. Details and registration.

Regulatory agency training

Ten workshops to help enforcement staff carry out their functions under the new Act will be held around the country from 30 October. The training is for licensing inspectors, medical officers of health, public health staff and Police alcohol harm reduction officers.

A website, e-learning package and manual will support the workshops. The resources are being developed by the National Regulatory Agencies Steering Group which represents ACC, HPA, Police, NZ Institute of Liquor Licensing Inspectors, Public Health Services, Fire Service, LGNZ and the Ministry of Justice.

Email Marise for dates, venues and to register.

HPA is developing new resources to help people understand the provisions of the new Sale and Supply of Alcohol Act 2012.

We have published new online guidelines to help Councils develop Local Alcohol Policies. The Act includes new alcohol licensing requirements so there are new PDF guides  about ‘How to apply for a licence’ and ‘How to object to a licence’.

An explanation about the new criteria for alcohol licences is linked to these two guides and there is a flow chart which sets out the process for gaining an alcohol licence. New protocols for alcohol advertising and promotions are in production along with advice sheets for bottle stores, bars and restaurants. We’ll let you know in Ease Up when they’re available.

  'Rise Up!' Mental Health and Addictions Youth Summit

Organisers: The Midland Region Mental Health and Addictions Network

Conference description: Presentations from across the Midland region that has developed unique ways of engaging youth. There will be two streams running concurrently: one for provider presentations and the other focusing on youth-for-youth presentations and activities (18 to 25 years). Registrations close on 11 October:

When: 22 to 23 October 2013

Where: Lakeside Novotel, Rotorua

More information: www.working4youth.co.nz/view-notice.php?id=1368

Action on alcohol - Change is coming

Organisers: Alcohol Action New Zealand

Conference description: 5th Alcohol Action New Zealand Conference

When: Thursday 20 March 2014

Where:  Te Papa, Wellington

Cost: Not yet known

More information: www.alcoholaction.co.nz/?p=116