The introduction of alcohol legislation in 2012 by the New Zealand government was proclaimed as being designed to facilitate community input on decisions concerning alcohol. These researchers investigated the experience of Māori communities with the new law, by obtaining submissions made to local governments and submitters from iwi (tribes), hapū (sub-tribes/clan groups) and Māori service providers who were invited to participate in semi-structured interviews with Māori researchers. Analyses of the interview transcripts revealed that the respondents had invested heavily in human resources to write submissions informed by technical knowledge of liquor licensing and relevant research. In their experience, local governments had not meaningfully engaged with the content of their submissions, and on multiple occasions had not updated participants on how the consultation was progressing. In the opinion of some respondents, the fact that the alcohol industry had easier access to local politicians was likely to mean that outcomes would reflect industry interests.
