Clifford, re [2003] NZLLA 533 (31 July 2003)

Last Updated: 2 October 2010

Decision No. PH 533/2003

IN THE MATTER of the Sale of Liquor Act 1989

AND

IN THE MATTER of an application by STANLEY DAVID TREVOR CLIFFORD pursuant to s.118 of the Act for a General Manager’s Certificate

BEFORE THE LIQUOR LICENSING AUTHORITY

Chairman: District Court Judge E W Unwin
Member: Mr J C Crookston

HEARING at AUCKLAND on 16 July 2003

APPEARANCES

Mr S D T Clifford - applicant
Mr D W Sara – Auckland District Licensing Agency Inspector – in opposition
Sergeant P Kaveney – NZ Police – in opposition

ORAL DECISION OF THE AUTHORITY

[1] This is an application by Mr S D T Clifford for a General Manager’s Certificate. The criteria to which this Authority must have regard in considering such an application is criteria listed in s.121 of the Act. The issues before the Authority are:

(a) Whether the convictions recorded against the applicant are regarded as an impediment towards his being granted a certificate, and

(b) In general whether he has established that he is suitable to be granted a certificate, and will, as a consequence, uphold the law.

[2] The application must be seen against the background of the amendment to the Act on or about 1 April 2000 when the responsibility for compliance with the Act and the conditions of the licence, was placed on the shoulders of a manager. Since then there has been a general effort by all parties to raise the standards of managers so that they will be people of integrity who will set an example to others, particularly their patrons.

[3] In this case Mr Clifford fulfils the majority of the criteria. He has the support of the manager of the licensed premises where he works. The evidence discloses that on 26 February 2001 in the District Court at Kaikohe Mr Clifford was convicted of possession of cannabis for supply. He was sentenced to non-residential periodic detention for four months. There are no details of the offending, but Mr Clifford himself has acknowledged that as the result of a search warrant following his arrest on unrelated matters, 14 bullets were found at his premises. He says he has been around cannabis since he was five, and has been using cannabis on an on and off basis since he was 13. That is for the last 10 years. He says that he is a recreational user. His attitude towards the drug is described as relaxed. It is not clear when he last smoked cannabis, but it is clear that he is not averse to smoking a joint from time to time.

[4] The second conviction occurred on 10 July 2001 in the District Court at Waitakere. Mr Clifford was convicted of 24 charges of obtaining a document. He was sentenced to five months non-residential periodic detention. Although the previous conviction list is unclear, it would appear that he was ordered to pay reparation of $10,150. It was because of these convictions that the Police opposed the application, and suggested a two year stand-down period. Of greater concern to this Authority is the fact that Mr Clifford candidly acknowledged that there have been no repayments of the reparation at all over the last two years. He puts the blame for that not on himself but on the Court system. He said that he has submitted a regime for repayment, but has not received any confirmation from the Court as to how and when the money should be repaid. This is a large amount of money. In our view, the fact that there has been no payment at all reflects on Mr Clifford’s character and reputation as described in s.121(1)(a) of the Act.

[5] We have heard from Mr Dean Rangihuna, the manager of the “Palace Tavern” where Mr Clifford has worked for two years. Mr Rangihuna is the holder of a General Manager’s Certificate. He has no issue at all with the honesty of Mr Clifford. He stated that the business runs a big gaming operation, and Mr Clifford has plenty of opportunity to take advantage of converting some of the cash proceeds to himself and has not done so.

[6] Nevertheless we have to be satisfied that Mr Clifford will obey the law. In view of his relaxed attitude towards cannabis, and the fact that there has been no confirmed regime for the repayment of the reparation, we are not prepared to grant the application at this time. Mr Clifford is welcome to reapply once he has established where he stands with the use and abuse of cannabis. We accept that in a modern world the use of cannabis is accepted by many as to be almost legal. In our view alcohol and cannabis often go together. We are not prepared to licence general managers who may have more than a passing acquaintance with the drug.

[7] Mr Clifford is welcome to reapply for a General Manager’s Certificate once he has established a regime for repaying the reparation and has commenced to do so. In the meantime the application must be declined.

DATED at WELLINGTON this 31st day of July 2003

Judge E W Unwin Mr J C Crookston
Chairman Member

Clifford.doc(nl)