Chris Trotter on the Alcohol ‘debate’

Chris Trotter writes on the Alcohol ‘debate’. Adam is not sure whether debate is the right term, as on one side we have a bunch of OTT zealots and on the other side acording to some views the ‘evil liquor barons’ who seek to plunge the entire nation into moral turpitude.

Adam is no liquor baron, but he abhors the screeching from the illliberal and increasingly it appears neo-prohibitionist forces.

We digress, Trotter sets the issue against the  backdrop of whether in fact the proposal to change the age etc is justifiable, as he introduces the topic thus:-

THROUGHOUT THE ENTIRE DEBATE on “What should we do about our drinking problem?” one very important issue has been consistently overlooked.

The constitutional, political and moral objections to “down-sizing” the rights of 18 to 20-year-olds.

Though the Age of Majority Act (1970) sets 20 years as the age at which a New Zealander acquires all the rights and responsibilities of citizenship, over the course of the past four decades Parliament has effectively lowered the Age of Majority to 18 years.

Eighteen and nineteen-year-olds have the right to vote in local and general elections, perform jury service, join the armed forces, make a will, sign a contract, and purchase alcohol. About the only important thing 18 and 19-year-olds can’t do is marry each other without parental consent.

When it comes to the other rights, responsibilities and duties of citizenship, however, 18 and 19-year-old New Zealanders are legally recognised as responsible adults.

This raises a couple of very serious question. Having admitted 18 and 19-year-olds to the ranks of adult New Zealanders, is it constitutionally, politically and morally justifiable to cast them back into the ranks of non-adults when it comes to purchasing alcohol?

How can prohibiting their participation in a social activity in which all other New Zealand adults are free to engage without legal sanction possibly be right?

Adam agrees with the thrust of Trotter’s argument. The entire piece is worth reading.

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