The Law Commission has released its long awaited discussion document on the sale of alcohol in NZ. Although 296 pages long, it has enough graphs and charts to keep even Paula Bennett amused. But as Eric Crampton points out, less amusing is that in dropping the derided BERL report to justify their recommendations, the Law Commission has resorted to quoting Brian Easton.
While BERL inflated the social costs of alcohol in NZ to $4.8 billion a year, Brian Easton puts the harm at $16 billion per year. Methinks the Law Commission jumped the wrong way to sex up their wowserism.
