Liquor poll ‘a nightmare’

Press, 23 November 1981, Page 6

Liquor poll ‘a nightmare’

PA Palmerston North - The liquor licensing poll is a politician's nightmare, says the Massey University dean of science and. head of the university’s alcohol research team, Professor Richard Batt. ' The poll had lost any signi-.. ficance because it was a foregone conclusion that the result would be national continuance, he said yesterday. The liquor -poll, which since 1925 has shown a decisive and growing number of ’people’ supporting .continue ance, costs the nation about. $2 million each election.

• about half the total cost of a General Election. The poll is fraught with dangers for politicians. Altl ough many people see it as an anachronism, and the result a foregone conclusion, any party whicn abolished it would bring down the wrath of prohibitionists on their Parliamentary seats. The poll co’uld be manipulated by interest groups, as seen in’ the last election on the abortion issue. Professor Batt said. *' • Its inclusion of a Stale control option •wbßld embarrass any government if it were carried, because no

government could afford to buy the $lOOO million brewery industry. One of the reasons why the poll was particularly dangerous for politicians was that any government which abolished the poll would receive a backlash from the strong prohibitionist lobby. Professor Batt said there would be about 100,000 people in New Zealand who were more strongly motivated to vote prohibition than to vole for any political party. , . The Press Association .reported from Tauranga that a target of 600.0UI) votes for

> prohibition at the'liquor poll 1 on election day has been set by the Temperance Alliance. « The Alliance’s public rela- - tions officer, the Rev. Mer- ; vyn Campbell, who is visiting - Tauranga during a pre-elec- ; tion campaign to publicise r the movement’s aims, said ’ on Saturday that the target p might seem optimistic but ) “you have to aim at somer thing — aim at nothing and < you hit it.” 1 [* If the figure was realised it would 3O per -? cent of those voting in the t.?_: liquor poll would be opting •7 for prohibition, he said.