Young Labour join Keep it 18 campaign

The recent findings of the Law Commission in regards to the review of the regulatory framework for the sale and supply of liquor has lead Young Labour to join forces with other political youth wings to speak out on raising the purchasing age of alcohol in New Zealand.

Young Labour, in conjunction with ACT on Campus, Young Greens and the Young Nationals are coming out in support of keeping the current purchasing age at 18 years old.

Young Labour spokesperson for Keep it 18, Nicola Wood says that creating  a culture of responsible drinking only comes from policy which better enables young people to make positive decisions about how they use alcohol.

“We will oppose any change to the law which discriminates unfairly against young people” she said.

Wood, who is due to feature in a joint press statement to the media at 12.45pm today, is concerned with the way in which the report portrays young people as irresponsible in their attitudes towards alcohol.

“The vast majority of eighteen and nineteen year olds are responsible drinkers, and it is unfair to punish all 140,000 of us for the damage caused by a few” said Wood.

Although Wood is not yet eighteen, she has been eagerly anticipating reaching the age in which she is legally allowed to drink.

“If the Law Commission’s main cause for concern is children under eighteen gaining access to alcohol, it is not fair to react to this by stopping all adults between eighteen and twenty from entering bars”

“From my relatively recent experience, I have found that in my peer group, the vast majority of youth gain access to alcohol through their parents. Perhaps it would be a better alternative to start enforcing the provisions of the current law, rather than just arbitrarily legislating” said Wood.

President of Young Labour, Analiese Jackson is confident that the Keep it 18 campaign will not only capture the attention of law-makers but will have a positive effect on the general outcome of the process itself.

“Whilst it is unfortunate to come together under these circumstances; circumstances in which young people are being unfairly scrutinised by the Law Commission, Young Labour is pleased to have been presented the opportunity to work with youth wings across the political spectrum on an issue which we collectively agree on” she said.

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