Source: Radio New Zealand
Lisa Riley and her son on the site of the proposed Super Liquor store. Supplied/Lisa Riley
Proponents of a proposed Super Liquor in Lake Hāwea have insisted they are acting in the town’s best interests, as their clash with local residents enters the hearing room.
There were a record 538 submissions opposing a liquor licence for the store, which would be the town’s first standalone bottle store, and two in support.
A three-day District Licensing Committee hearing began on Wednesday afternoon at the Lake Wānaka Centre, where Keyrouz Holdings Ltd laid out its case for a new Super Liquor store under the watchful eyes of more than a dozen Lake Hāwea residents.
The company operates Super Liquor franchises in Cromwell, Alexandra, Wānaka, Queenstown and Lorneville, near Invercargill, and also owns the Five Stags restaurant and The Gate Hotel in Cromwell.
Gate Group chief executive Glen Christiansen said the town was growing and residents could be assured Super Liquor was responsible and community-focused.
“I do believe that Lake Hāwea will get a bottle store at some point, and that we are the suitable operator due to our great history and strong operational standards, which are held by our staff and guided by Super Liquor Holdings,” he said.
The company earlier secured building consent to construct the outlet in the Longview subdivision – a fast-developing pocket of the town with a playground, school bus stop, and new homes.
A public notice of an application for a liquor licence at the proposed site. Supplied/Lisa Riley
Locals argued the proposed site was too close to children and sent the wrong signal about the town’s priorities.
Keyrouz Holdings director Alan McKay said the company was confident it could work with residents to find common ground.
“Over the last 25 years we’ve gained considerable experience, and we have extremely competent people working for us,” he said.
“It takes a bit of confidence to put a new business in the middle of a vacant paddock. But it is a commercial area, and what we’re doing I think will attract other businesses, which will eventually help the community.”
Outside the hearing, resident Lisa Riley said she firmly disagreed.
“The growth is inevitable, but I think Lake Hāwea needs to have the infrastructure in place first – things that so many other towns and cities take for granted… medical services, public transportation, police. When someone gets hurt in our community, they have to be airlifted out by helicopter,” she said.
“When this first happened, some people said they thought it was a joke, like a bad April Fool’s joke, because when you look at the site and you look at the proximity to the family-friendly neighbourhood, it just absolutely makes no sense whatsoever. They can go on about it being a commercial centre. It is incredibly small… it was not meant for large liquor chains to come in and take up space.”
Resident Andre Meyer said it was entirely backwards for the company to seek a liquor licence before laying a single brick.
“The application should have never got this far,” he said.
“The land… it’s simply still just a paddock. It’s fairly straightforward – my opinion is they don’t have a chance.”
The site of the proposed liquor store on Longview Drive. Supplied/Lisa Riley
Counsel for Keyrouz Holdings, John Young, said the company was simply carrying out its due diligence.
“I’ve been at hearings and my clients have built a bar, done everything, and they’ve had objections, and they’ve been accused of being cocky and presumptuous. So you can’t win either way sometimes,” he said.
He said the majority of objections were in template form, and cited an earlier Alcohol Regulatory and Licensing Authority decision suggesting such submissions might not reflect the authors’ genuine views.
“Such objections suffer from a lack of author authenticity and are likely to carry less weight… What I want to say about that point though is that I can assure the committee my client is here today with an open mind and here to listen.”
The debate took on an added edge after one of the company’s Super Liquor stores in Queenstown’s Remarkables Park was ram-raided in the early hours of Monday morning.
Young told the committee it was an unfortunate incident.
“No one wants it to happen. The police have responded quickly and appear to have apprehended those responsible. And the applicant cooperated with the police as fully as it could. The store was remedied and ready to trade at 9am on the day of the incident so the community was not exposed to the damage that had been done,” he said.
The hearing was expected to run for at least three days, with objectors due to take the stand on Thursday.
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– Published by EveningReport.nz and AsiaPacificReport.nz, see: MIL OSI in partnership with Radio New Zealand
