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Allegations of Abuse
in NZ |
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Tea Ropati - League Star accused
of rape |
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http://www.nzherald.co.nz/topic/story.cfm?c_id=115&objectid=10490250 NZ Herald The manager of the Whiskey Bar has
told how the group Tea Ropati met there were drunk but not “completely
intoxicated''. Ruth Westwick, who was bar manager
on the night of the incident, said the group had been to a function and
arrived at the bar happy and “a bit raucous''. “After midnight, people usually
are a little drunk but these people were dancing and were able to hold a
conversation and use eftpos. They seemed fine,'' said Ms Westwick. “They were happy and at the time
everyone had had a few.'' Staff at the Whiskey Bar took
their host responsibility duties seriously and she denied they would turn a
blind eye to serving people who were drunk. Ropati's court case and the
subsequent media interest surrounding it had not had a detrimental effect on
business there and there was no change in business practice. “We get a few people popping their
heads in and saying, `Oh, this is where it all happened, eh?' but apart from
that, it's business as usual,'' said Ms Westwick. Police say it is not just a matter
of host responsibility - New Zealanders need to change their attitude to how
they drink. Auckland West liquor licensing
co-ordinator Jason Loye said it was not enough simply to blame errant
publicans for booze-related problems. “New Zealand's drinking culture is
probably the main problem - people thinking they can go out there to get
pissed.'' His comments come two days after
Ropati's acquittal on six sex charges, allegedly stemming from an incident at
the Whiskey Bar. The court heard that Ropati and a
36-year-old woman were drinking heavily in the bar, with one estimate putting
the woman's total consumption for the evening at the equivalent of 3.5
bottles of wine. Mr Loye's unit is responsible for
ensuring that publicans adhere to the Sale of Liquor Act by not violating
section 168, which makes it illegal for bars to allow any intoxicated patrons
to remain on the premises. There are three such units
operating in central Auckland, and they are assisted by team policing units
and cops on the beat. Although different areas came in
for attention at different times, and certain bars give more cause for
concern than others, the number of prosecutions of licensed premises was
“fairly static, depending on area and time'', Mr Loye said. Pubs and other licensed
establishments are the safest places to drink, but most people still choose
to booze in uncontrolled environments, says the Hospitality Association. Chief executive Bruce Robertson
told the Weekend Herald yesterday that less than a third of drinkers consumed
alcohol on licensed premises, with 70 per cent preferring to do their
drinking elsewhere. The association intends pressuring
the Government to consider an amendment to the Sale of Liquor Act that would
see public drunkenness a fineable offence. Work needed to be done to change
New Zealanders' attitudes to alcohol, rather than simply punishing publicans,
Mr Robertson said. “Some New Zealanders _ not all,
but some _ are drinking to the point of intoxication. [We] should be sending
some signal to New Zealanders to say drinking to that extent is
unacceptable.'' Mr Robertson said persecuting publicans
for patrons' bad behaviour was “a perpetuation of the blame culture'' where
people think: ``If people are getting drunk, it must be the licensee's
fault''. Authority crackdowns on liquor
licence holders meant drinking holes had “never been safer''. Alcohol Liquor Council chief
executive Gerard Vaughan said yesterday that he would prefer to see publicans
kept under scrutiny, at the same time as people acted to change drinkers'
attitudes. While he accepted that most
drinkers chose to consume alcohol away from licensed premises, licensed
establishments' host responsibility obligations still needed to be monitored. |
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