Elia, re [2005] NZLLA 39 (27 January 2005)

Last Updated: 17 February 2010

Decision No. PH 39/2005

IN THE MATTER of the Sale of Liquor Act 1989

AND

IN THE MATTER of an application by MARAMA ELIA 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 PAPAKURA on 18 January 2005

APPEARANCES

No appearance by or on behalf of applicant
Mr A J Turner - Papakura District Licensing Agency Inspector - in opposition

ORAL DECISION OF THE AUTHORITY

[1] This is an application by Marama Elia pursuant to s.118 of the Act for a General Manager’s Certificate. The criteria to which we must have regard is set out in s.121 of the Act. Those criteria are:

(a) The character and reputation of the applicant:

(b) Any convictions recorded against the applicant:

(c) Any experience, in particular recent experience, that the applicant has had in managing any premises or conveyance in respect of which a licence was in force:

(d) Any relevant training, in particular recent training, that the applicant has undertaken and any relevant qualifications that the applicant holds:

(e) Any matters dealt with in any report made under section 119.

[2] At the time that Ms Elia made her application she failed to attach any references to assist the Inspector to gauge her character and reputation. The applicant also did not disclose whether she had any relevant convictions, any previous experience in the industry, or whether she had received any recent training. She said that she had attended a course on the sale of liquor. She attached a certificate of competence from Food Safety New Zealand Limited.

[3] On 27 September 2004 and again on 4 November 2004 Mr Turner wrote to the applicant at the address given on Ms Elia’s application form. She was advised that her application was incomplete and this needed to be attended to before her application could be processed further. He also requested that she supply two written character references. However to date none of those matters have been attended to and in addition there was no evidence of the applicant’s active involvement in the industry or her experience in managing licensed premises.

[4] The applicant was also asked to arrange for an interview and to complete a questionnaire before the interview to assist the Inspector with the interview. That was not done and accordingly Ms Elia has not been interviewed to assess her suitability to be the holder of a General Manager’s Certificate.

[5] On 10 December 2004 Ms Elia telephoned Mr Turner after he had supplied her with a copy of his report objecting to her application. He explained the reasons for his objection including that there was no evidence of her active involvement in the industry. Ms Elia told Mr Turner that she had since left the “Papakura RSA” where she was working. She is not presently working in the industry.

[6] Ms Elia has not appeared today to support her application. Her application remains incomplete. By her absence we can only conclude that she no longer wishes to pursue her application.

[7] In all the circumstances Ms Elia’s application for a General Manager’s Certificate is refused.

DATED at WELLINGTON this 27th day of January 2005

Judge E W Unwin Mr J C Crookston
Chairman Member

Marama Elia.doc(aw)