Alcohol delivery services and health advocates both agree the essential services list needs to be reconsidered over lockdown.
Butcheries and bakeries are shut, but some alcohol stores are allowed to operate under the Government’s essential services list during the Level 4 lockdown.
According to the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment (MBIE), contactless delivery of alcohol is considered essential and liquor stores operating within a licensing trust area can also remain open so long as they have a one-in, one-out policy.
Both butcheries and bakeries as well as alcohol can be delivered during Level 4.
But Alcohol Healthwatch executive director Nicki Jackson says the essential status of alcohol delivery was concerning as the availability of liquor as an essential service in lockdown last year changed the industry’s landscape, with more companies setting up delivery services.
“Last year it took a while for liquor deliveries to sell during lockdown because they had to develop a website and develop all the payment systems. But this year, they were ready to go,” Jackson says.
She says the availability of liquor as an essential service in lockdown last year changed the industry’s landscape, with more companies setting up delivery services.
“Last year it took a while for liquor deliveries to sell during lockdown because they had to develop a website and develop all the payment systems. But this year, they were ready to go,” Jackson says.
There are several local players delivering alcohol over lockdown, however one of the biggest delivery companies, Uber Eats, which typically delivers alcohol, has suspended all delivery services during the lockdown.
Of those able to deliver alcohol, business is booming.
Nick Ewart, owner of alcohol delivery company Bevee says sales shot up 300 percent over the past week compared with pre-lockdown.
“I know, none of us likes going into lockdown. But in terms of my business, it literally took it to the next level,” Ewart says.
Last year his business closed for two weeks during the first lockdown but reopened after he found out it could still operate under MBIE’s guidelines.
“I wasn’t doing anything that I wasn’t meant to.”
While the online contactless delivery rule benefited his business, he “empathised” with grocers and butchers who weren’t able to open.
Ewart says the essential services list needs to be revisited as local grocers and butchers may take the pressure off supermarkets facing supply chain pressures due to increased demand.
The Trusts chief executive Allan Pollard agrees.
His liquor stores have operated both in store and online. Deliveries alone are up from 12 a day before lockdown to 120 every day for the past week.
Pollard says he, too, did not understand why butchers and bakeries could not open under Level 4.
“I don’t really see any reason why the butchers and bakeries can’t also operate similar to the supermarkets and even ourselves,” Pollard says.
“I think butchers and bakers should be open, to be honest, as long as they have good processes in place, and they can assure social distance. It could also potentially take more pressure off supermarkets, because I know that some of them are actually struggling to meet demand.”
“I know, none of us like going into lockdown. But in terms of my business, it literally took it to the next level.”
– Nick Ewart, Bevee
Selah Hart, the chief executive of Māori public health organisation Hāp ai Te Hauora, says alcohol shouldn’t be classified as an essential service.
She says access to alcohol in lockdown was an “equation for disaster” because of the potential for alcohol consumption related harm.
“I don’t think the Government has really applied a public health lens to their consideration of what is essential,” Hart says.
“Alcohol is the most harmful widely accessible drug in New Zealand and we’re making that easily available.”
But Alcohol Beverages Council executive director Bridget MacDonald believe the government has taken a public health view in allowing liquor deliveries as an essential service.
“The Government has approved online sales and contactless delivery of alcohol as an essential service to help minimise the movement of people, and therefore minimise the spread of the Covid-19 virus.”
MacDonald says changing how alcohol was purchased does not mean an increase consumption or harmful consumption.
She cites figures from Statistics NZ showing the alcohol available for consumption in 2020 decreased slightly from the previous year. There were 8.719 litres of alcohol available per head of population in December 2020 compared to 8.752 in December 2019.
“So while there may have been increased online delivery services during over lockdown, New Zealanders have actually been drinking less during Covid-19 times.”
A survey by the Health Promotion Agency of about 1200 people conducted over the first lockdown last year showed about a third of respondents reported their consumption of alcohol had dropped, while 20 percent of the respondents were consuming more.
The agency said it was concerned those who had increased their consumption were already drinking at “hazardous levels” before lockdown started.
But another survey of about 900 conducted in July last year, found people reported their drinking habits had gone back to pre-Covid.
The main reasons given for drinking less than before lockdown included not being able or not wanting to go out, money and physical health.
Jackson says more regulation is needed for the online delivery of alcohol.
“If you only sell online and have a remote sellers’ licence we know who those people are. But if you have a general liquor licence, which supermarkets and bottle stores have, you can also deliver, without disclosing whether you’re delivering or not.
“We have to rely on social media feeds to see who is selling online.”
And director of online food and alcohol delivery website Cheers Club, Shaival Arora, supports this too.
“I don’t think the Government has really applied a public health lens to their consideration of what is essential.”
– Selah Hart, Hāpai Te Hauora
Alcohol deliveries cannot be left unattended. However an increase in demand has meant not everyone was following the rules, Arora says.
“There are no actual regulations, we are self regulating right now. We know for a fact our competitors have been leaving alcohol unattended at people’s homes and there is no way of knowing if the customer is over 18 or intoxicated, or verifying they are the ones who ordered it.
“The Government needs to look into changing the law and regulation of online alcohol delivery because this is the future.
“This is where it’s going, and delivery is not going to go away. More rules and clear guidelines would be great because at the moment we’re self-regulating.”
Cheers Club’s tagline is that it delivers alcohol within 60 minutes but Arora says the need to follow health and safety guidelines, as well as to ensure customers are not underage or intoxicated has slowed delivery times, which resulted in upset customers.
But Arora says following those rules was non negotiable, as failing to adhere to them could result in fines or the loss of a licence.
“We were one of the first alcohol delivery service providers. I had a lot of hurdles on the way with councils from around the country, police doing sting operations on us, but we passed all the tests.
“It’s great that others have also followed the delivery service model, but not all are following the rules.”
*This story has been corrected to reflect bakeries and butcheries are open for delivery under level 4 guidelines but physical shops are closed.
