Juno

http://www.politics.org.nz/webapps/cid/23106/44861/vote/vote-debate.html?questid=226
Increase the drinking age from 18 to 20?
Reasons to Disagree
This concept sounds good, but in actual fact we must think of the consequences. Should the drinking age be increased, general anger and annoyance among the youth around the age of 18 will lead to rebalance over this decision. They will drink alcohol anyway using the "you can’t stop me" concept. And what do you tell the present 18-19 year olds who have been drinking for quite some time?

Rising the drinking age won't solve anything!

I disagree with this proposal only because the conservatives in Parliament can't be bothered with incorporating healthy substance use education into the health education curriculum. No instead of doing this, they like to point the finger - it's the fault of the youth. It's not like they're coherently sober after some time at Bellamy's anyway so who are they say anything?

I think laws should be fair and specific, and address the actual problem. If the problem is 18 year olds drinking, then preventing them from drinking by rising the drinking age to 20. However, if the problem in fact is 15 year olds drinking, then raising the drinking age from 18 to 20 is going the wrong way about it. It is more important that the drinking age of 18 be enforced - i.e. people should not serve those under 18. The problem (stemming from previous drinking laws - e.g. the six o'clock swill) is in binge drinking, not drinking per se.

These problems have nothing to with age but with NZ culture.

It would only encourage younger people to break the law.

Rising the drinking age to 20 is not going to stop ages ranging from 12 to 19 from drinking we have always been underage drinking and will always be underage drinking.
Isn’t it better to keep 18-20 year olds in the pubs than in halls out in the country where anything could happen?? Where there is a bouncer and bartenders etc. to keep an eye on any fights etc. that happen on a regular basis.

I am 17, 18 on Thursday 26 October. I work full time and have always been sensible with alcohol e.g. never took advantage of it. Being 17 I have missed out in going for a drink with my co-workers for the past 7 months I have been working. Rising the drinking age again is unfair and I DISGREE to it!!

As noted above, the age increase will not stop them drinking. I think that increasing the driving age is more important.

As already pointed out, the problem is not with the drinking it is the binge-drinking culture that we have grown up in. Being a student I am willing to accept that students are probably the main concern. The reason that many 18 year olds binge-drink is often not the fact that they are legally allowed to drink in bars, but more the fact that they are in their first year of university (which is generally very cruise),and often have more freedom due to being away from home. If the drinking age was raised, this would mean that people would simply have their 'binging' year when they were 20, which could be detrimental as 3rd year courses are much harder and require a greater workload. No matter what age the drinking age is when people reach that age they are going to celebrate by drinking (probably bingeing) unless they have already experimented with alcohol while they were underage, in which case raising the age has not had any effect on underage drinking anyway.

I strongly disagree because no matter what the age, people under the age of "18" or "20" are going to have access to alcohol. Parents can buy it; a friend’s parent can buy it, a sibling, aunty, uncle, cousin or older friend. Anyone can buy it and can offer it to underage drinkers. Also... If 18 year olds can vote, marry, drive, become an MP, and go to war to fight for the country, they deserve to be able to have a cold beer at the end of the day. It will also add to the street violence as you will now have the 18 and 19yr olds drinking on the streets, car parks and at parties instead of safe and controlled environments like pubs. NO MATTER WHAT, underage drinkers can access alcohol. And teens will become more rebellious if the age is raised, more laws will be broken, and underage drinking statistics will increase. You'll have 12-19years old drinking illegally. Think about it... raising the age will not solve the problem of 15yr old drinkers. It will simply increase alcohol problems in New Zealand

It won’t solve anything. Look to the real problem and stop doing a knee jerk like you do with everything. Deal with the problem properly! Keep the age as it is

The drinking age should be scrapped. Drinking problems are at a minimum where alcohol is accepted as just another beverage and children grow up with it having a routine place in life. Making it something special just serves to glorify it.

Raising the age will do little to cause a change in culture surrounding alcohol. The "drinking" age in NZ is in fact a purchasing age, so will have little effect on who is drinking, but just where they are drinking. Raising the age has the potential only to force 18 and 19 year olds from relatively safe drinking environments like clubs and bars, to unsafe, uncontrolled environments of private parties.

Old enough to go to war, old enough to vote, old enough to drink

Rising the drinking age will only increase the desire of young people to obtain alcohol as it is illegal and therefore has an element of risk. Less emphasis is needed on who can and can't drink alcohol and more emphasis should be placed on sensible drinking. We should drink to appreciate the alcoholic beverage (esp. when it comes to wine), rather than drinking to get drunk - people of all ages drink to get drunk, not just 18 and 19 year olds. If we want kids to be more responsible with alcohol a cultural change is required, and adults are the ones that need to provide an example for sensible drinking.

Leave it how it is, most of the old fags complain stop being so pc and get over it?

i think there should be no drinking age

I disagree because if you keep on raising the drinking age more teens are going to break the law and do it anyways because the rules are stead of changing every year and it’s getting worse. 18 year olds are responsible enough to deal with it. You are officially grown at the age 18 years old anyways. So why not?

Even at 30 to 40 years of age people act with the maturity of an 18 year old. Leave it at 18 and pray that grow out of it.

If there is a problem with youth drinking, lowering the age is the answer - at least for getting into bars/night clubs. Get teenagers out of house parties and into a supervised venue. There bar staff can refuse to sell any alcohol to someone who's had too much. Europe is much more liberal in this way and don't have the same problems we do. The knee jerk reaction of "stupid young people" isn't the answer - it only creates resentment.

From a young age you are expected to pay adult fares for many things including airline tickets movie tickets, and also at a mere age of 16 be allowed to bring a child into the world. But you can’t drink!!! How does this match?

Drinkers should be held responsible for their actions

Don't be stupid; people don't start drinking at 18. I started drinking a good while after my friends did and I was 15. Obviously the issue is beyond the law.

Rising the drinking age won't solve New Zealand's binge drinking culture.

You can do it when your 16 legally so why not have a drink when your 18 and do it also

Changing the drinking age will do nothing. Young adults will feel even more compelled to drink. You need to find a way to stop young adults from drinking before we're all dead from liver diseases.

It is unfair for those who are already 18. It will not stop those who are 18 or 19 from drinking it will just cause anger.

I firmly believe the drinking age should stay at 18. Like the ads on TV say. It’s how we as new Zealanders drink not what we drink. Instead of totally cutting young adults off from being able to buy alcohol which if the government did would cause a major backlash focus on alcohol consumption. Being a teenager myself, I believe we need to send a message to youth that it is not cool to binge drink!

CHANGING IT OR NOT. IT WONT STOP ANYONE FROM DRINKING?!!!

People under the current drinking age can already get alcohol now; it’s just a bit harder than for them people over the drinking age. If the age is raised it will just cause more underage drinking and a lot of anger towards the government. There is no way to stop teenagers drinking.... live with it.

Most kids start drinking younger anyway I know I did. The most important thing is teaching/educating them how to drink properly that’s probably what I missed out on. It’s like table manners. Better to learn how to control it rather than through a funnel. It’s meant to socialise isn’t it.

The great part about turning 18 is being able to drink. This is not relevant but perhaps a better question would be why is it illegal to buy porn when your 16 yet your aloud to have sex what is worse?

Will not change shit! It will only cause an uproar for the younger ones whom you are trying to stop, and make them rebel in a way to try even harder to get fake IDs and what not. The only thing you’re going to achieve by doing this is pissing A LOT of 18/19 year olds off!!!!

I believe rising the drinking ages from 18 to 20 is pointless. The reason why binge drinking is so common in this age group is because the youth of today simply cannot wait till their 18th birthday. Being surrounded by such a large drinking culture creates excitement for any teenager for the day they get to be a part of it. When this day comes, though all the excitement and patience they have endured over the years they find it hard to control and take this freedom over the top.

no they are already rising so many laws its silly and there’s no point everyone’s going to get it any way

The Drinking Law should not be raised to 20 Years. Firstly it is not going to stop underage drinkers from drinking instead the number of underage drinkers will rise, people who are already 18 and 19 it will suddenly be illegal for them to purchase alcohol or buy a drink from the pub. Raising the law will just encourage private parties with alcohol supplied by peoples over the age of 20, and from those parties is where the most harm and deaths occur as there is no law to control what can happen at these parties. The government should not want to encourage these parties and instead focus on creating laws that create penalties for hosts of private parties or whoever is supplying minors with alcohol on a private basis for endangering minors. Instead of just raising the drinking law to 20 and then hoping that everything will work out, perhaps the government should borrow some ideas from say Germany, they have teen curfews, where if you are 16 you should be at home or at a safe place like your friend’s house at a certain time, if you are roaming the streets after that time by law you could get reprimanded or the government could encourage activates for minors such as the opening up of nightclubs for only peoples under the age of 18(particularly in rural areas), the encouragement of non-age Restricted concerts. Just raising the drinking age to 20 will create higher age restrictions on nightclubs and concerts, and lure even more minors into private parties where the law cannot at the moment close them down because of the danger of underage drinking. This is much more dangerous than an 18 year old going to a pub and having a few drinks. If they become intoxicated it is the pub that supplied them with the alcohol that is liable. No one is liable at these parties with underage drinking. Please will the Government focus on the true problem areas of this underage drinking in New Zealand. Raising the age will not do anything anymore.

As previously stated, raising the drinking age to 20 is not going to solve the problems faced with our current drinking culture. It is not going to stop the 14, 15, 16 and 17 year olds from drinking, as everyone knows someone who will buy it for them; it will not reduce the rate of consumption; and I believe it would simply create more underage drinkers (the 18 and 19 year olds). What the government needs to do is focus on changing our drinking culture through education and other tactics - the answer is not to simply rise the drinking age.

As clearly stated, changing it from 18 to 20 will achieve nothing. People will think that problems will lessen in bars but it's not just the younger people causing the trouble. And on top of that, the younger people will rebel even more with more binge drinking. It seems everyone want to take a blind eye and blame it on the youth when it's people of all ages who are causing the trouble. What's the point in taking it out on those already 18-19? It's not fair on them at all if anything, it's the way we've been brought up with alcohol. You have countries like Germany where the drinking age is 14, or France where youth are brought up to drink sensibly... why can't we be the same? There are other ways to help NZ's drinking culture. There should be information out there about drinking and the pros/cons of it and the media around alcohol should be limited. Being young can't be to blame for the way we drink. Look at what youth have been brought around. Change that.

Hahaha okay so this is all very well, but 1) what is going to happen to those who are already 18-19 and already go to town and stuff. We suddenly become illegal to do what we’ve already been doing? I think if you’re going to rise the drinking age you should allow 18-19 year olds who are already old enough to still be able to go and phase out the old law. 2) Like everyone else is saying, you can’t narrow the drinking problems to one age group. Just because they are the younger ones. Is that supposed to mean that they are to blame for everything because they are young? DOUBT IT. That’s discrimination and is ILLEGAL all on its own john key you piece of shit. Bring back Helen.

There is no benefit only for those who are deceived to think that it will stop once it’s raised, of course the 18/19 will be angry and will be more rebellious than ever before

I strongly disagree. There is no point in raising the drinking age to 20, I’m under the age of 18 and i don’t have any 18/19 year olds that buy alcohol for me but people between the ages 20/25. Changing the drinking age will not help harder pushments for people that buy 4 under ages and for under ages that drink will achieve more than rising the drinking age. 18 is only 5 weeks away for me and like all other 18/19 year olds in New Zealand there will still no stopping the drinking. most 16+ year olds are out of home and in flats, having parties so if the government does change the law it will stay the same, under ages getting drunk and in trouble they will still find a way to drink no matter what the drinking age is and i also think that if the age goes up than it will be grossly unfair and should be viewed as a breach of rights to those who are already 18 or 19 as they are not the problem with today’s drinking culture. My opinion is that it is the actions of a few that are spoiling it for the rest of us, come on NZ government get it right for once!!

Rising the drinking age to 20 is not going to stop ages ranging from 12 to 19 from drinking we have always been underage drinking and will always be underage drinking.

Having survived the mine field that is "teenage drinking", I think that the drinking age should remain the same. Although that opinion might seem strange to some, I believe that, without the guidance of my parent’s life skills and a bit of luck, I may not be around today. I agree that underage drinking is a problem in our society but it has been for a very long time. I believe the issue that needs to be addressed is the lack of morals in society today. It seems to me that society as a whole and to a greater extent the youth of today seem to disregard the consequences of their actions. When you combine this with alcohol and a lack of experience, it can lead to dire consequences. Education, respect and honour could be keys to reducing the ills that alcohol have on our teens. Hopefully by following my own advice, my son will survive the roller coaster that is "life".

Being and having sisters in this age group, I think that this would be a bad idea as it makes a whole group suffer for what a few idiots in that group have done. In America, states that adopted raising the drinking age (voluntarily) found the effects of doing so to last for only a few weeks and then going back to usual. I think raising it would prove costly in having to advertise etc. about the change in law, without showing any profits or lasting results from the change.

As an under-age musician I found it almost impossible to get a gig because I was unable to get into bars. Changing the drinking age will not only create anger amongst the youth of NZ but also prevent Musicians like myself from being able to perform at most venues.

It is important to make sure kids are well educated on how to drink properly like I was when I was a lot younger

It’s ridiculous to change the drinking age, your punishing all 18 year olds that actually know how to drink responsibly, changing the drinking age won't change anything, there will always be underage drinking, changing the age will only encourage people to break the law as people will just get others to buy alcohol for them, changing the drinking age will not help so please don't change the age as it will be punishing the 18 and above year olds that know how to act responsible.

I have just turned 18 years old. I strongly disagree with the motion of increasing the drinking age. It will address some of the symptoms but definitely not the cause. I am joining the Navy next year, and if my country is willing to send me off in its name; with the possibility of me
Not coming home, at the age of 18. I think I have come of age to purchase alcohol. Once again, this is a case of the Government failing to educate and fully enforce the policy they currently have. If I'm technically old enough to give my life for my country, I should be able to shout my mate a beer too; and not have to go to the pub to do so.

I turned 18 in February so I was then able to buy my own alcohol. But I've been drinking since a far younger age. To be honest are just want to punch john key and all the other prudes in the face. I've been responsible with my drink for years now so why now take it away from me and others like that. I've waited a long time to be able to buy my on piss and then you do this. Well just remember us 18 and 19 year olds can vote...

I have 2 Teenage girls 16 & 17 "Good" girls that want to socialize now & I thought I would agree with raising the age. BUT "NO" - We expect them to display adult behaviour as young as 14yrs when it suits society... While age may be a concerning factor culture, environment, upbringing, finances all play a part. If children are taught "HOW" to treat serious issues like DRINKING with the "PROPER RESPECT" & that breaching these can result in serious consequences from those actions then WE SHOULD SHOW FAITH IN THEM TO DO WHAT IS RIGHT.

I disagree with the vote strongly. The problem is within us, not the age. We would do better to take a look at our CULTURE, not our LAWS. Raising the laws of drinking would do nothing but further the youths distrust in our government.

Education not legislation to change a culture that has existed for many generations.
On an ideological level, I believe that the drinking age should be made the same as the age of majority. Which then raises the question as to why the age of majority is 21? But since our nation can't make up its mind on when a person actually mature, that then makes the issue moot as our trusted leaders only do what the ignorant masses demand. We have one of the most unbalanced and disjointed legislation in the free world. Our youths can legally have sex at the age of 16, at 17 they can legally enter the armed forces and commit state murder and at 18 they can drink and smoke and vote, and yet you can't go into casinos to gamble till you hit 20. It is for this reason that I choose to vote for keeping the drinking age at 18. I don't drink or smoke but I do, however, believe that people can do as they please as long as they bring no harm to anyone other than themselves. Even in the last 30 years, we have had laws restricting our ability to make decisions, which have created a whole wave of criminals guilty of "victimless crimes" which have filled our prisons, and yet in that same breath, have given these criminals comfortable cells and luxuries that the average working class person can only wish for. All the while they learn new skills to break the law in more devious and violent ways.

Obviously the crowd to the right are clearly over 20.

If you're old enough to vote, you're old enough to drink. If you're going to change the drinking age, the voting age needs to be changed too.

this might cause anger among teens and start protests. I think the government should focus more on educating teens of the consequences of too much alcohol instead of just raising the drinking age which has a potential to create avoidable trouble to the government.

I believe that if the age was to increase, there would be more problems. We should be trying to teach them, not try and take it away because it would push them to want it even more. I started at age 15, but I was only allowed to drink at home where I was supervised by my parents and family. This thought me how to drink responsibly when I was legally allowed to go out. I have dependants under 10; they know what it is and what it does. I always ask them "will you drink when you’re older?" Same reply every time "nah it makes people act funny". I do not shelter my kids knowing about alcohol and believe if underage drinkers are supervised at home by their caregivers/parents if they want to drink, they would learn their limits before going out legally which would make less hassles for the government anywhere they go!!!

No it shouldn't be. I am nineteen and I am responsible enough to drink and not get myself into trouble and it really pisses me off that the government is trying to tell me otherwise. Also, I am a university student. I like to go to gigs, I'm into music. I also like to hang out in the university bar, and why should that be taken away from me because of a few nutcases who can't behave themselves?

Simply put, as many others have said, the issue with problem use of substances ('legal' or otherwise) is not about the drinking age. As with any form of prohibition it simply drives the behaviour underground. How about we start setting good examples and educating people on responsible use of alcohol from the cradle rather than telling them they can't have something (which only makes it more interesting to them anyway and, teenagers being the rebellious creatures that they are, in fact encourages them to drink).

If young people want to drink they will do it no matter what the costs but all 18 year olds shouldn’t be made to pay the price for some binge drinkers. The drinking age in most countries is 18 for a reason and this is because that is when we are considered adults. It would be unfair to have to live in the real world yet still be treated by society like children.

This is such a terrible idea. 18 are considered "adult" so if the government deems that old enough to vote, why shouldn't an 18 year-old be able to enjoy a beer? It's not the drinking age that should be changed; it's people's attitudes towards alcohol. There are plenty of older adults that still drink irresponsibly.

From a youth’s perspective, I find it very unfair to rise the age to 20. As an 18 year old, I can move away from home, support myself on my own income, go to university, pay tax, have a child, get married, join the army, yet I can't buy myself a beer after a hard day’s work? Where is the sense in logic in that? It is not the 18 - 19 year olds that are the problem. The problem is the youth that are drinking, so why punish us? Why not enforce the laws already placed. Place higher punishment on 13 year olds drinking, not on us. A lot of the time the youth drinking get there alcohol from parents, older siblings or steal it. Rising the drinking age to 20 will not completely eliminate this. Imagine being in your second year of university and not being able to simply have a beer. It’s ridiculous.

I totally disagree what about all the teenagers who are just turn 18 they won't be able to experience buying or going clubbing!

Why take away responsibility of those who don't abuse it? 19yr olds miss out because others are immature about it

No point. I am 17. I drink occasionally at a friend’s house, moderately. There are girls in my year that drink. There are most certainly girls younger than me that do as well. I believe that rising the drinking age will nearly cause an uprising of all teenagers. There will be rebellions, not just of 18 and 19 year olds, but of all teenagers. I think that the drinking age should remain 18. However, I do think that New Zealand needs to do a better job of preventing minors drinking. Because minors are not allowed to drink, when given the opportunity, they go crazy with it; they drink as much as they can in a limited time. That's the issue New Zealand should be targeting. Personally, I think New Zealand should adopt more of a European culture and not make drinking such a big deal. Introduce it when people are young, then they won't feel the need to go mental with it because it's not as much of a controversial thing. However, looking at the wider picture, let's just target the real issue and enforce the law as it stands.

This will cause more problems. It’s the parents the government needs to target. Teenagers learn how to drink responsibly or irresponsibly from their parents. It’s well-known from early age children copy their parents to learn. The drinking culture in New Zealand is not the teen’s fault it’s the parents!

That is bloody rubbish! I'm 18 and soon to be 19 I can tell you now I know my limits and how to control myself when I'm drinking. Raising the age is .pathetic!!

It's not fair on the 18/19 year olds who have nothing to do with supplying minors with alcohol. I know more minor’s whose parents have supplied them with alcohol than 18/19 year olds. Yeah make the consequences worse for 18/19 year olds who DO supply minors with it. But don’t raise it. I waited for ages to turn 18 to be able to buy alcohol. I didn't abuse the fact that I wasn't an actually allowed to drink when I was younger. And if I did, it was my parents who supplied. Never have my older siblings or friends. If the consequences were stricter on people supplying minors with alcohol then they maybe wouldn't do it. But raising it isn't going to help anyone. I was 15 when my boyfriend was 18. So who knows these days 15 could have 20 year old boyfriends, and getting them to supply for them. Everyone around the age will know at least a few 20 year olds. Could be boyfriends, friends, brothers or sisters, and no matter what the age is, they will get alcohol and they will get drunk. More problems will be caused raising the age. So 18 year olds can go buy smokes and smoke themselves to death, but aren’t allowed having a few drinks and good time. And even tho alcohol can cause death, who is that is drinking way too much? It's the minors! I'm 18 and when I go to a party, it's the minors who are on the floor spewing, sleeping and making a complete dick of them. Whereas when I go to parties full of 18+ people I don't see any of that, it's just people dancing and talking and getting ready to go to town. It's the minors who are ruining it for us who are 18/19. And if the age does get raised we only have a year or 2 to wait, they suffer more because they will have 3-4 years to wait to buy it instead of 1-2. The ones who drink irresponsible are minors, and are pretty much ruining it for the ones who are allowed to drink!

Reasons to Agree
I agree with those who have said that the current 18 and 19 year olds are disadvantaged by this change in law and we all know and agree with this. But I have to say that they are not looking at the bigger picture. The impact will dramatically change for the better in the long run. It’s true that for this to work out there needs to be a few sacrifices here and there but as everyone will see in the future, it’s all for the better. The issue right now is not that we are worried about the 18 year olds, but it’s more about the younger society we have to focus on. At the moment at clubs, pubs and other social environments it is 18 at which the legal is to enter the place. But the problem is that the younger have a too much of an easy access to alcohol while being under-aged. It is quite possible for a 15 year old to get away with being an 18 year old. Sure right now there are ID checks everywhere and we try to legalise this as much as possible but as we all know, there are an enormous amount of underage getting access. The difference from a 15 year old and a 20 year old are quite prominent. Therefore it is only logical for the age to be raised. Yes I agree that this is not a complete cure for the issue but this will definitely reduce the amount of underage drinking for sure. There will always be the few kids who will experiment drinks and quite possibly be a frequent drinker. But we have to except that it’s just human nature, though we should not look past it but penalise it. It is visible that the current drinking age has a problem. Therefore something needs to be done.

I believe there are not many mature 18year olds that no their limit, it also causes a lot of violence in teen family’s

With freedom of choice comes responsibility for the choices you make. I find it difficult, looking back at my own life, to believe that at 18 I truly understand what that means.

Not too stressed about them drinking in controlled environments but off licences should only be able to sell to over 20's to reduce the 'pass down' effect where the person purchasing the drink is buying for a younger person.

Split drinking age and bottle shop buying age 18/20

I agree on the basis I think the age should be raised to 25, but putting it back up to 20 is a start. Our national pass time is drunkenness and lowering the legal drinking age has enabled even more drunk teens out on the streets to bash to death and permanently maim the general public.

When I was younger I found the drinking age an inconvenience and an annoying law, but now that I am a bit older I agree that sensible use of alcohol should be promoted and that younger people can get it too easily.

Drinking age SHOULD be 20 to 21. (I actually think the same thing for smoking.) That way people will HOPEFULLY drink and smoke as responsible adults.

Ok great voting set up in principal but, what are the 3 voting choices between Agree and Disagree all about? Why ruin a good idea with total nonsense?

Rising the drinking age won't eliminate the binge culture prevalent today; to do that we need to have a more in depth look at why drinking is something we think we need to do. It is a start, however, and if rising age does nothing more than make as ask the more difficult questions than it is worth it.

Certainly there will always be those who try to drink even before they reach the legal age for drinking. Surely by rising the legal age there is more likelihood that some youths will refrain from drinking outside the law and those that flout the law will potentially be cautioned by caring others, deterring the habit. Admittedly we may have some rebellion from those that are about to turn 18, but in the generations to come, the law would have entrenched in society as a 'norm'. We are certainly seeing troubling times for our youth and alcohol has for many years been a temptation that many have taken advantage of. Often this has happened before they had the opportunity to establish themselves in the community on their own. I believe that rising the age for drinking would create a boundary that forms good habits for our future generations.

I agree on the basis that the alcohol purchasing age (we don't actually have a drinking age) would be progressively raised - those who are already allowed to buy would be allowed to, but over 2 years, we would move back up to 20.

Rising the drinking age would reduce access for younger people to alcohol.

There need to be more youth activities, entertainment venues. I believe that boredom is the biggest factor in NZ's drinking - there simply isn't any other way once business closes down at night - the only places that remain open are bars petrol stations and takeaway joints.

I am a 20 year old student, and I agree that the legal purchasing age of alcohol (not the 'drinking age' - there is no such thing in New Zealand) should be raised back to 20. Binge drinking is a major issue in New Zealand, and keeping silent about it is not going to change anything. My main reason for agreeing is because of the access younger teenagers have to alcohol. As a 14 or 15 year-old, you are going to have more in common with an 18 year-old (especially if they are in high school) and therefore have greater access to alcohol. I'm not saying all 18 year olds buy alcohol for their younger mates, but it is more likely than a 20 year old (who is removed from the high school scene)buying alcohol for young teenagers. Raising the purchasing age of alcohol is only the first step however - getting rid of advertising that encourages excessive drinking, stricter regulations in the liquor industry, police given more resources to cope with binge drinkers, a public campaign with the message that binge drinking is unacceptable and education in schools on alcohol and possible long term side-effects from over use. A lot to do, but by raising the purchasing age to 20 and then enforcing the legislation with the above methods, a lot of harm will be avoided to younger people.

It may not fix the problems we have got in this country with youth getting out of hand but it sure won’t hurt!!!It’s a good start!

Well in my opinion raising it higher won’t do a thing except cause more teens to get in trouble for underage drinking, kids can get alcohol from other people easily, like last week me and my friends got my older cousin to go out and buy us alcohol. I got sooooooo drunk and so did all my friends, and then the cop’s came and fined me $200 for having possession of alcohol, it sucks man, and if they raise the age this kind of thing will keep on going. Down with drinking age!!!

The young children drinking 12 - 14 year olds have much easier access to alcohol when the age is set at 18 than they do at 20. At 20 their older brother or sister is away at university or working and not living with them. There’s nobody drinking age at the school they go to. It also decreases the element of peer pressure. We need to think about the youth and try to break the habit.

The drinking age currently enforces the binge drinking culture. What needs to be done is restricted access to the youth so sensible drinking can be learnt. 18 years old is perfectly fine for someone to drink, the problem is the amount we are drinking. I believe the drinking age should remain at 18 within licenced bars and cafes, but off licence shops need to be 20. This will target the binge drinking culture as binge drinking usually occurs outside licenced bar. This is coming from an 18 year old student!

Recent research shows that the radical changes that take place in the brain structure at adolescence are not complete until the mid-20s. Significant alcohol consumption during this development stage causes permanent damage. 20 years would be a good start but if we did the right thing, as opposed to the politically convenient thing, it should be 25.

Believe the ability to buy alcohol at retailers should be restricted to 20, but at 18 you should be able to buy a drink at the pub etc.

It is a disgrace to say that I come from New Zealand and the generation that I do, drinking has got out of hand, and is killing many people.

I don't know if this is the best method to combat youth drinking but it will at least help. The main concern I have is that the lower the drinking age is e.g. 18 the lower younger people start to want to drink e.g. 15, 16 or sometimes even 13 & 14. I think that 18 is an acceptable age to drink but having this as the age tends to lead to younger youth drinking.

it’s also easy for teenagers getting alcohol because the age is 18years old and they can get alcohol I personally think it more of the purchasing age more than the age itself I still think the age should still be aged to 20 or over as it will be a safer environment and by the way I am only 14 and I know what is right so there
What’s the rush? You got your whole lives to drink. Better to do it at a more mature age.
Let’s give our young people a chance to earn their wage & spend it on meaningful things giving them more desire to work. Alcohol & smokes disables them from working through real life issues, what a rough start to adulthood it is happening because the options are there.

Drinking is not good for you anyway, I am a non-drinker and I have as much or even more fun than those who do drink.

I think that the legal drinking age in New Zealand should be raised to twenty. Young adults who are consuming alcohol have not learned to be responsible drinkers and only drink to get drunk or to have a good time, when twenty year Old’s have more responsibility. If the drinking age remains 18, it gives more opportunities for adolescents ranging from ages 13 - 17 to drink more heavily as alcohol is more available for them. If the drinking age is raised to twenty, over time, the binge drinking rate in adolescents will not be as high as it currently is. :)

The vote in parliament on the drinking age on 30-8-12 proves irrefutably that our current crops of ministers are a spineless bunch of self-interested plunders. Over 80 precent of voters wanted the age lifted back to 20 for damn good reason. It is reassuring to know that the alcohol industry has more sway over politicians than the people they work for. Well done ministers. Yeah Right. Reasons for Remain Neutral
There won't be much of a difference by rising the drinking age

yeh it should be raised for people that are drinking out with in public but it shouldn’t matter if they are in the house and friends and family are buying it to celebrate or just as a one off

We need an age of maturity and then all these things can be set at that age.

It is not the age that determines the problem. It is the outcome. So punish the outcomes - I.e. disorderly behaviour, and increase the punishment for people "underage". No harm no foul. Harm - Foul.

The law shouldn't be so focussed on the age of alcohol consumers, but rather the responsibility and risk they would cause (to themselves and others). Depending on the laws that would supplement this one, I might either agree or disagree.