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Five Karangahape Road venues lose their liquor licences after police intervention
Five venues on Auckland’s Karangahape Road have lost their liquor licences, following objections from the police and an alcohol licensing inspector.
Mavana Group Limited (MGL) operates Family Bar, Family Down Under, G.A.Y. Club, Las Vegas Nightclub (Empire), and Phoenix Venue, all on Karangahape Road.
Family Bar is particularly iconic, having been a popular LGBTTQIA+ bar for more than 20 years.
After taking over the venues, MGL applied for temporary authorities to sell alcohol earlier this year, with permission granted on 7 May.
The company was warned at the time, however, that “no further compliance failures would be tolerated”.
MGL, which has Dalavou Niuhulu as its director and Justine Niuhulu as its sole shareholder, had been seeking another grant of temporary authorities to sell alcohol. Opposition from the police and an alcohol licensing inspector resulted in a hearing in Auckland on 28 August, where a myriad of concerns were raised about multiple incidents at the venues.
The decision to reject the venues’ liquor licences as a result of that hearing has just been released.
Police told the hearing that MGL had failed to address concerns raised by Auckland’s District Licensing Committee. Police felt MGL “had not demonstrated the level of control, oversight and compliance expected of a licensee in one of Auckland’s highest-risk alcohol environments”.
While large portions of what police told the hearing have been redacted from the decision, as the statements relate to active investigations, a number of incidents have been disclosed since the venues were given temporary permission to sell alcohol in May.
Sergeant Simon Dillon said unlicensed security staff had been used by MGL, which “demonstrated inadequate employment vetting and failures in compliance”.
There was also allegedly an assault on police during a compliance check at Black Velvet – another MGL-owned venue – on 7 June, where the patron admitted to consuming a full box of alcoholic drinks.
He also noted a driver with alleged excess blood alcohol that crashed into a parked car claimed to have had his last drink at Family Bar.
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Another “disorder job” occurred outside Family Bar on 4 July. The matter was now before the court.
Auckland Council senior alcohol licensing inspector Ashley Wilson addressed compliance monitoring at MGL’s businesses.
He said while some issues may appear to be minor administrative breaches, he believed they showed defective systems, staff and training, and reflected negatively on MGL’s attitude toward adhering to the rules.
Drunkenness at the venues witnessed by various agencies “showed MGL’s unsuitability directly contributed to alcohol harm”, he said.
Jon Wiles represented MGL at the hearing. He said police and licensing inspectors’ submissions mostly related to isolated incidents, many of which did not involve MGL serving alcohol to those involved.
Many did not occur within the licensed premises either, he said.
Administrative issues identified the licensing inspector were minor, and had been fixed promptly, he said.
Allegations relating to intoxication were largely subjective, he said, and while the company acknowledged some incidents had occurred, MGL believed prompt and decisive corrective action had been taken, “including the replacement of the previous security provider with Sila and Sons Security Group”.
Niuhulu, MGL’s sole shareholder, said she had made a substantial personal and financial investment in Karangahape Road’s hospitality sector, and had made a long-term commitment to the area.
She said she wanted to operate safe, professionally managed venues that contributed positively to the local community and hospitality environment.
The District Licensing Committee labelled what it had heard from police “alarming” and “disturbing”.
“MGL was given an opportunity to show that it could deliver on its vision for the premises and the Karangahape community,” the committee said.
“It has failed.
“We do not consider MGL is suitable to continue to hold the temporary authorities.
“The applications are declined.”
The committee’s decision can be read here.
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The chief executive of the Parliamentary Service is confident there will be enough room to accommodate the increased number of MPs and their staff coming into Parliament.
On current numbers, up to 131 MPs could be sitting in the Chamber following the election, brought on by a record overhang result.
Clerk of the House of Representatives Dr David Wilson told the Spinoff that currently the debating chamber had enough chairs to seat 124 MPs – including the Speaker of the House – and work was being done to accommodate more by altering the seating arrangement.
In a statement, Parliamentary Service chief executive Rafael Gonzalez-Montero said planning for a larger Parliament had been going for “some time”.
“Now that the election results have confirmed an increase to the number of members we are looking at several options.
“We are confident we will be able to accommodate all members within the Chamber.”
VNP / Phil Smith
Gonzalez-Montero said office accommodation for members and their staff would be “stretched” for a short time, but the new Members’ Building was only a few months away from “practical completion”.
That building – located behind Parliament – was due to be ready to occupy in April next year and had capacity to accommodate around 30 backbench MPs.
“All members should be in fit-for-purpose accommodation from that point,” Gonzalez-Montero said.
Following the 2023 election, 123 MPs sat in the Chamber – a record number at the time. That decreased to 122 following the resignation of National MP Judith Collins.
Collins held the seat of Papakura and stepped down in May and Parliament voted against holding a by-election because it was too close to the election.
The election result also meant high-ranking National Party MPs like Chris Bishop, Paul Goldsmith, Nicola Willis and Gerry Brownlee – Speaker of the House and an MP for 30 years – would likely not make it back into Parliament.
Only resigning or retiring MPs were permitted to give a valedictory speech meaning none of them would get the chance to give a valedictory statement.
Asked if their would be special allowances for valedictories, Wilson said in a statement that normally only MPs were allowed to speak in the House but the House could suspend its own rules or temporarily alter them.
“It could do so to allow former members to address the House.”
Wilson said no such arrangements could be made until the next Parliament opened and members sworn in.
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