By: Mike Hosking | Wednesday, May 02, 2012 9:00 AM

So here we go again with the booze. The Government are set to put into law a series of recommendations made by the Law Commission. For the critics, not nearly enough changes and for the liquor industry, probably too many.

The Law Commission came up with well over a hundred ideas. Some were never going to float, some were just plain unfair. Taking alcohol out of dairies for example - why would you do that when supermarkets make a fortune from it?

The age of course is always an issue and chances are they’re going to mess with it again. Chances are they’re going to split the age between off licences and bars. But the reality is none of this really is going to address the issue. In fact nothing the Law Commission came up with addresses the issue because the issue is with us. Well, with those who have a problem, those that cause the trouble which is to say, comparatively speaking, a minority of people. This is all about the extreme end of the game.

They say we have a booze culture and we do but only to a point. Most people don't have a booze culture. Most people don't have a problem. Most people like a glass of wine at the end of the day or to celebrate something or to share over dinner. For most of us this has no bearing on our lives whatsoever.

For those that do have the problems, tragically many of them are young and virtually every one of those young kids has what’s commonly referred to as a parent. And the parent will, could or should have a vastly greater influence on that young person’s view on booze than any Law Commission report or any subsequent legal tinkering by yet another Parliament with yet another conscience vote.

If there’s a problem, we’ve created it or allowed it to flourish. To expect a bunch of bureaucrats in Wellington to dream up another series of half baked measures in the faint hope it will address what really is a maturity and social issue is delusional. Do they honestly believe by changing the closing times of liquor stores and taking booze out of dairies and messing with the age by a couple of years that those who write themselves off each Saturday will suddenly go, “oh no, the rules have changed! Well that's that – let’s go to the movies then.”

A cultural change, which is what’s needed, is not something that gets passed through Parliament. It’s generational. It’s the way you’re raised. It’s the role modelling you receive. It's the values you’re taught. It's the ability to deal with peer pressure, the ability to know right from wrong and act on it. It’s about discipline and self worth. Change that and Law Commission reports are redundant.