Lianne Dalziel

Wellington, April 17 NZPA - Labour MP Lianne Dalziel has called for supermarkets to "lose the right" to sell alcohol.

She says supermarkets sell alcohol at a loss to entice people into their stores to buy other products.

"For supermarkets, selling liquor is a licence to print money" and the low prices helped to "promote the abuse of liquor", the Otago Daily Times reported today.

Supermarkets have been allowed to sell wine since 1989 and beer since 1999. Ms Dalziel voted against the 1999 change after entering Parliament in 1990.

Speaking at a Labour-organised forum in Dunedin yesterday on the Sale and Supply of Liquor and Liquor Enforcement Bill, now before a select committee, Ms Dalziel said it was an opportunity to address the sale of alcohol in grocery stores.

Submissions close next Thursday but only two members of the public had given their views.

The bill would prevent smaller shops -- with a floor area of less than 150sq m -- but supermarkets could continue to sell alcohol.

Labour introduced the bill after the shooting of south Auckland liquor store owner Navtej Singh last year and general anti-social behaviour through alcohol consumption and the ease of young people being able to obtain it.

Dunedin police liquor licensing sergeant Wayne Pitcaithly told the meeting off-licences were "causing the issues for our city".

Steve Anderson, chief executive of Foodstuffs South Island Ltd, which owns Pak'N Save, New World and Four Square, said store owners had "in the past" priced alcohol at cheaper than they had bought it for.

However, that happened rarely and the company intended to stop the practice.

A spokesman for Progressive Enterprises, which owns Foodtown, Woolworths and Countdown, said it was not the company's policy to sell alcohol at a loss.

"It would not be sustainable to do so."

"We advertise hundreds of products each week of which only a small percentage are beer or wine."

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