The Drinking Age

Parliament will soon get to vote again on the drinking age, or more correctly the alcohol purchase age which is a very different thing. There is in fact no age restriction on when people can drink alcohol if done on private property.

I am very much against increasing the age of purchase from 18 to 20. It is not only the wrong answer to the question of teenage binge drinking, but it may do harm as people are taking the easy way out of blaming the law on the age of purchase, instead of the real solutions such as parental responsibility, and proper funding and enforcement of current laws.

Banning 19 year olds from being able to have a wine or beer at a bar, because too many 14 and 15 year olds are getting hammered at private parties is as stupid as (for example) raising the age of consent for sex from 16 to 21 because too many 13 year olds are having babies.

Many of my student staff are under 20. Every six months or so I take them to the Malthouse for drinks paid for by the company, as thanks for their work. Never a big boozy session, just a couple of hours and a couple of drinks each. Now this law change would make that illegal.

No Right Turn has blogged on this issue, and has details of key MPs.

Frog Blog is also strongly against the Bill. Hopefully one of the Green MPs may act as an organiser for the Noes lobby, to try and get 61 votes against. I’d be happy to help them (or any MP) with this.

The NZ Herald has an article on the pros and cons.

And also have a laugh at Lyndon Hood’s satirical piece about raising the age to 41.