The Law Commission says it will recommend significant law changes to the Government regarding the sale of alcohol and drinking.
The commission is reviewing the Sale of Liquor Act and expects to report back to the Government next year.
It says changes could include raising the price of alcohol through excise tax, increasing the age a person can legally buy alcohol, lowering the legal blood alcohol limit for drivers and restricting the hours shops can sell alcohol.
Addressing a police conference on alcohol-related harm on Friday, Law Commission president Sir Geoffrey Palmer detailed the significant strain alcohol places on police resources.
He said on a typical day, one third of all individuals apprehended by police will have drunk alcohol before their arrest.
Sir Geoffrey also drew a link between alcohol and violence offences, saying half the recorded homicides in recent years involved either a suspect or a victim being under the influence of alcohol.
He accepts the commission's suggestions in the review will be greeted with scepticism and dislike, but dramatic changes are necessary.
"The progressive liberalisation of our law over the last 20 years ... has meant that too many people are drinking too much in circumstances where it is imposing too heavy a cost on society," he said.
The commission plans to release a discussion paper and call for public submissions in July.
Businesses concerned
Businesses in central Wellington are worried that any tightening of alcohol laws may affect tourism numbers.
Sir Geoffrey says 24-hour trading is not helping New Zealand's problems with alcohol, and the hours for both on and off-licence trading need examination.
But the Courtenay Quarter Accord, which promotes hospitality in Wellington, says the "opening up" of liquor licenses and operating hours have been vital to the tourism industry.
President John Coleman says responsible operators willing to work long hours in difficult conditions should be able to get on with the job.
Mr Coleman akso accused supermarkets of turning the hospitality industry into a joke, by selling alcoholic drinks as loss-leaders.
He says supermarkets are irresponsible for selling alcohol as a cheap product to attract customers for other goods.
Mr Coleman believes the focus must be on minimising harm for young people, and agrees that the legal buying age should be raised from 18 to 20.
Hospitality Association chief executive Bruce Robertson says punishing people who are intoxicated in a public place, and enforcing the current drinking age of 18, would be more effective in addressing the main concerns about alcohol.
