The Press WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 4, 1957. Licensing Poll And Licensing Laws

Press, Volume XCVI, Issue 28451, 4 December 1957, Page 14

The Press WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 4, 1957. Licensing Poll And Licensing Laws

?" of cu of % O f ~ , ,94fl poll 1954 poll 1957 po u For national con- * tinuance 900,573 (62.00) 872,754 (81.9? 865,436 (63.25) For State purchase and control 135,982 ‘12.8? 164.380 (15.1? 147,232 (14.21) For national pro- f S. hibition 268.567 '25.2» 250,460 (23.0? 233,525 (22.54)

The provisional returns of theL Licensing Poll, tabulated above, produced a result very similar! to those of the polls with rhe; *9*9 and 1954 General Elections.', These figures demonstrate a.

stability in New Zealanders'! thought about issues that have been put to them three times' in eight years. Going further! back, there have been variations in thought about State purchase and control, and these* have naturally affected the vote* for continuance. But for 25 wears national opinion about' prohibition has not varied greatly. Votes cast in favour I of prohibition amounted to 47.3 i per cent, of the poll in 1925. but * fell heavily at each of the next ’ two polls, reaching 29.6 per cent. I in 1935. There was little! variation in this percentage in I 1938 and 1943, but further falls| ♦o 25.2 per cent, and 23 per! cent, were recorded in 1949 and •954. Surely it is reasonable to conclude that prohibition is a dead issue, and that New Zealanders in great majority believe in the right of a rational person to use in moderation •nd with wisdom the wines.' beers, and spirits that have been used by mankind since the dawn of history. What useful purpose is served by the triennial liquor poll except the opportunity for a hard core of prohibitionists to record their opposition to the majority? The choice between continuance and State purchase and control does not in itself justify • poll. Since 1935 the vote has been heavily in favour of continuance, which reached 63.4 -per cent, in 1935. It fell gradually to 54 per cent, in 1945. recovered substantially (at the expense largely of State purchase and control) to 62 per cent, in 1949, and 61.9 per cent, m 1954. The provisional returns in Saturday’s poll suggest that continuance has gained further ground at the expense ©f State purchase and control.

It may be reasonably concluded that this issue also is one that has been settled in the public mind. The new Government might well decide that the cost of a worthless poll is not worth bearing any longer.

i The Labour Governments! policy, and statements made* by prominent Labour men—- : particularly Mr F. P. Walsh, president of the Federation of Labour—do not suggest that the I new Government will be active ! about introducing desirable 1 reforms in the licensing laws. The National Party promised 1 reform in its policy subject to | a referendum on such subjects >as closing hours of hotels and I the sale of wine in restaurants. • The Labour Party did not (pledge itself even to this. However, there is one good reason [that might impel the new Govfern ment to examine the ques- ; tion seriously. The Licensing Control Commission, which has ' been usefully active in improving the conditions in licensed ‘houses, is a child of a Labour Government set up by the Licensing Amendment Act of , 1948. One of the functions ' with which that Government I endowed the commission was I “to make recommendations to i the Minister as to the expedi- | ‘ency of amending the Licensr‘ing Acts”. For several years I now the commission has recomI mended changes on which the National Party Government has not acted. A Labour Govern- | ment should be more sympa- • thetic to an instrument created | by a previous Labour adminis- ! (ration. It has no reason to ignore the Licensing Control Commission because of the 1949 ! referendum on hotel closing hours. Public opinion may have ‘ changed considerably on this ’question since 1949—the Licensing Control Commission clearly • thinks so. Also, the 1949 referendum was unsatisfactory in that the issue was put in such la way as to make the decision ’almost inevitable.