Our two weapons are discretion and how we apply the law... and ruthless efficiency

Since localised bans on drinking alcohol in public have proved unworkable, or led to worse displays of public pissantry, or both, the Wellington City Council responds by proposing to extend the ban across the entire city. The proposed ban will not cover beer, wine, etc. consumed at bars, or at the tables that spill out from them across the footpath. Yet it would be churlish to regard it as merely a form of rent-farming; a tool to enforce patronage at the very bars that promote inner-city Wellington as a place for getting hammered (evil alcohol peddlers, boo hiss). Suffice to say that

Wellington's Hospitality Association branch president Adam Cunningham said the ban was appropriate and would not affect hospitality businesses.

If brothel owners had the same clout on the Council as is wielded by the hoteliers and publicans, then any public-lewdness problems arising from turning prostitution into the main activity of the inner city would be addressed by a bylaw that criminalised sex (except in brothels).
It turns out that the bylaw's chief proponents are the police. No-one could possibly have expected them to be so enthusiastic about a ban that would criminalise large sectors of the population and leave the decisions like "who deserves punishment" up to their partiality and selective enforcement rather than in the hands of the court system.

[Inspector Perry] accepted that even people drinking responsibly in public places, such as at picnics in parks, on beaches and in the green belt, would now be acting unlawfully.
"The police's biggest power is one of discretion and how we apply the law."

His insouciant acceptance of arbitrary powers might sound chilling and Orwellian to those of us who are easily chilled or Orwelled but fear not, Perry has promised that white middle-class rate-payers will be safe:*

"I don't think we will see [those sorts of offenders] appearing in Wellington District Court."

In other news, the constabulary are butt-hurt about the growing number of violent assaults against police officers. It is almost as if people no longer accept them as a source of safety but instead resent them as a kind of army of occupation.

----------------------------------------------------------------

* Worth noting that the same people were delivering the same sanguine promise of commonsense inconsistency 18 months ago, when the first, circumscribed liquor ban was introduced. Three months later,

People who breach the public liquor ban in the designated city areas can expect to be arrested, says Inspector Kevin Riordan, acting Wellington Area Commander.
"We've been using our discretion until now so that people could get used to the idea that the 24/7 liquor ban exists. There's plenty of signage about the ban so we don't want any more excuses."