The Wellington City Council has dropped plans to impose a city-wide liquor ban after strong public opposition. The current ban on consuming or carrying liquor has been extended from the inner city to Newtown and Mt Cook.

The NZCCL made a submission on the issue as did 603 others, with 76% of submissions opposing the ban.

As well as being concerned about the unwarranted extension of powers, we also noted that it would:

• Be an unnecessary restriction on the freedom of people to enjoy the public places by, for example, having a glass of wine with a picnic in the Botanic Gardens.
• Give Police the power to search any vehicle or container in the entire Wellington area without a warrant.