1 October 2010
At its General Assembly, currently being held in Christchurch, the Presbyterian Church urged the Government to implement all of the Law Commission’s recommendations on alcohol law reform, and endorsed the 5+ solution promoted by Alcohol Action NZ.
Moderator of the Presbyterian Church of Aotearoa New Zealand the Right Rev Peter Cheyne said that, concerned about New Zealand's heavy drinking culture, in late 2009 the Presbyterian Church produced a submission to the Law Commission on New Zealand's liquor laws.
Peter says the Presbyterian Church is not against alcohol; “we are encouraging responsible drinking and saying it’s time to put a stop to the misuse and abuse of alcohol before more lives are lost.”
While acknowledging that the Government has gone some way towards strengthening the alcohol laws, past Presbyterian Church Moderator the Very Rev Dr Graham Redding says much more needs to be done.
"We will continue to encourage the Government to adopt the 5+ solution. We called for these changes in our submission and we will continue to do so once the Alcohol Reform Bill is introduced to Parliament and goes to a select committee for consideration."