District Licensing Committee
General Info
District Licensing Committee
The Hurunui District Licensing Committee has been
appointed to deal with licensing matters for our district.
At the council meeting on 23 February 2017, Council confirmed the committee
membership for the triennial period 2016-2019.
Roles and responsibilities of the committee
The Hurunui District Licensing Committee will decide applications for:
- new and renewal licence and managers’ certificates, regardless of whether these are contested
- temporary authorities and temporary licences
- variation of licences, and
- most enforcement action for special licences.
Deciding licence applications
The Hurunui District Licensing Committee is required to consider a range of criteria when deciding licence applications (see sections 105, 131 and 142 of the Sale and Supply of Alcohol Act 2012). Case law and guidance or practice directions issued by the Alcohol Regulatory and Licensing Authority (ARLA) will also influence the committee's decisions.
At the council meeting on 23 February 2017, Council approved list members from Waimakariri District Licensing Committee to the Hurunui District Licensing Committee List, to be used only if a quorum of three cannot be reached from elected members of the Hurunui District Council.
Waimakariri District Licensing Committee members are:
- Chairperson Neville Atkinson
- Deputy Chairperson Jim Gerard (Commissioner)
- Councillor Wendy Doody
- Councillor John Meyer
- Councillor Paul Williams
- Commissioner Al Lawn
Hearings
Will the committee have to consider every application?
The Hurunui District Licensing Committee is not able to delegate its decision-making role. However, if an application for a licence or manager’s certificate is uncontested, the chairperson alone is able to decide the application. Contested applications are applications opposed by licensing inspectors, Police or Medical Officers of Health, or objected to by members of the public. Only people with a greater interest than the public generally can object to licence applications.
Public hearings
If there are objections to an application a public hearing will be held unless the objection is deemed vexatious or the applicant does not require a hearing. A guide to the procedures to be used at hearings can be viewed here: District Licensing Committee Practice Notice
To view what (if any) public hearings are scheduled for the month, look here, and they should be listed.
