Labour Just as Bad

Even under the Labour Government this was fairly evident. The Royal commission on the Sale of Liquor, which presented its report last year, failed to investigate the finances and internal workings of the breweries, which is crucial to understand the full liquor story. The brief they had been given did not include this, and so their final report was virtually meaningless (much to the delight of the politicians and the beer barons).

It seems that in the Terawhiti Trust case that breweries' pressure is again evident. Liquor industry sources tell us that Thompson has been pushing Muldoon and other Cabinet members to bring in legislation that would stop trusts from being able to operate retail liquor outlets, such as a suburban bottle store.

But what can we expect from the future? I believe their will be a general toughening up on the trusts, even though the majority of people may want one in a particular area. Nothing realistic can be done about the breweries, as regulations and Royal Commissions have a habit of being circumvented because through political influence.

As for the Terawhiti Trust, unless they receive a $23,000 gift from some rich benefactor, things look pretty grim. They may be given a few token gifts, such as a conditional right to set up a tavern or two but control, once again, will pass from the local level body to central government and into the hands of the breweries.