The anti-democrats

Radio NZ reports:

The open letter sent last week asked the government to exclude the alcohol industry from early stages of policy making and restrict its input to the public consultation process, on the same footing as the general public.

Health Coalition Aotearoa, which was among the signatories, said reducing alcohol harm required lowering consumption.

That was “an outcome directly at odds with the alcohol industry’s core business of maximising sales”, the organisation said.

But the industry hit back at what it said was anti-democratic behaviour.

“We believe that banning any group from engaging on a matter that may impact them goes against the idea of a democratic society, where a range of views are taken into account,” Alcohol Beverages Council deputy chair Dylan Firth said.

The alcohol industry talked with officials on issues affecting its operations, employees and consumers, he said.

Health Coalition Aotearoa also met with officials and ministers, as did other groups who signed the open letter, such as the Council of Trade Unions, Firth added.

“Are they saying that some groups should, and others shouldn’t, be able to engage and they get to decide who those groups are?”

They are saying exactly that. They are demanding that the government exclude companies from consultation, so that they are the only ones who can talk to government. They are basically calling for the government to be authoritarian, and exclude those affected by regulations from being able to talk to government about them.

One example of this new approach was the $7.25m in alcohol levy funds for programmes to combat Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder, he said.

But Fitzsimons said reducing alcohol harm reduction staff from 15 to 10 amounted to a “massive cut”.

“We’ve had specialist expertise for alcohol harm reduction in Māori communities and Pasifika communities that have been lost. Decimating this workforce is the wrong thing to do.

“You cannot solve alcohol-related harm by defunding the very people who work to prevent it.”

LOL. Of course you can. Fitzsimons is demanding that money be spent on more bureaucrats rather than on an actual programme to to combat Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder. Success is not how many staff you employ (well it is for the PSA), it is what they achieve.