Commission Considers King Country Licensing

Press, Volume XCI, Issue 27584, 15 February 1955, Page 3

Commission Considers King Country Licensing

(New Zealand Press Association)

TAUMARUNUI, February 14. The Licensing Control Commission, consisting of Mr A. M. Goulding (chairman) and Mr C. Nisbet, today began its investigation into the proposed distribution of liquor licences in the King Country. George Henry Lionel Holt, Superintendent of Police at Hamilton, said in evidence that now the King Country was being granted liquor licences, inquiries had beep made from the police staff in his district. It was thought that Te Kuiti should have two publicans’ licences. Each hotel should be of medium standard, and capable of taking at least 16 guests. The settlements of Benneydale and Piopio each required a hotel of medium standard, capable of taking at least 12 guests. To make these hotels a financial success, it might be necessary to abolish some of the chartered clubs that existed in the localities, said the witness. He did not favour a wholesale licence in this area. He considered the present Waitomo tourist hotel should be granted a full publican’s licence, said Mr Holt. He considered that at Otorohanga, one hotel of medium standard, capable of taking about 16 guests, was all that was required. At Kawhia, one hotel was required to take 20 guests, but the rating should not be too high. He did not favour a wholesale licence in this area. At Mangakino, said Mr Holt, some drinking facilities were required,' with the provision of meals and accommodation. He did not favour a wholesale licence. He considered that there were sufficient hotels in .the Taupo area, and no wholesale licence was necessary. Cross-examined, the witness said he did not favour wholesale licences. He considered licensed hotels should be able to cope with the wholesale trade at a price less than retail rates. Wholesale licences and agents were a pest. Chartered clubs should not be allowed to sell off the premises. Chartered clubs were social amenities, and not trading concerns. Claims for Taumarunui Joseph Herbert Hugh Pierce, giving evidence on behalf of the Taumarunui Borough Council, submitted that Taumarunui, with a population of 6000 within a five-mile radius, was the logical centre for the provision of suitable hotel accommodation. A whole-' sale licence should also be operated. As to the standard of accommodation, the council considered that Taumarunui required a hotel or hotels graded not less than three star plus, and providing 75 beds, said the witness. If the commission decided’that two hotels were warranted, then the council submitted that the. commis-

sion should impose a condition requiring a licence for no fewer than 50 beds to be taken up before a second licence was granted. v Such a condition would ensure that accommodation would not be jeopardised in the interests of liquor, said Mr Pierce. Such premises would require adequate parking facilities. Long submissions were made by Inspector E. J. C. Hay, on behalf of the Pojice Department. He said the department had been asked to give its views on the licensing needs of' the King Country. “The difficulty in the present circumstances is to recommend the authorisation of publicans’ licences in areas where it is obvious that hotel accommodation is desirable, but where at the same time sales of liquor which normally would 'be/ made from hotels are at present being made in the premises of chartered clubs,” said Inspector Hay. “I have appeared before the commission on many occasions during the last three or four years, and have heard submissions made by others to the effect that hotelkeepers find it difficult to make a living where there are selling points outside licensed hotels, but close to them. “There are 24 chartered clubs in the King Country. Taumarunui borough has three chartered clubs, with a membership of 2605. There are two private hotels in the town, and frequently they are fully booked. Problems Seen for Police “Representations will be made for the authorisation of one or more publicans’ licences for Taumarunui, and from the point of view of catering for the public, this is desirable,” said Inspector Hay. “A similar position will arise in Te Kuiti. In that borough, there are five chartered clubs, and from the point of view of amenities for the travelling public, there is a need for probably two licensed hotels. “The question, however, resolves itself into this: can licensed hotels in those two boroughs coexist with so many chartered clubs? From the police point of view, this js important, because experience shows that where a hotelkeeper has keen competition in the sales of liquor, there is a definite tendency to indulge in after-hour trading.

“On the other hand, if the licensee is not getting a return, the building and furnishings are not maintained at the proper standard,” said Inspector Hay. “In both cases, more work devolves on the police because more and closer supervision is required. Licensed trade may have an answer to the question I have posed, or it may be a question of legislative provision for the review of club charters.”