'Essential services' - liquour or fruits and vegetables?

Dr Naseem from Pinehill

I refer to the NZ Herald article below:

www.nzherald.co.nz...

Could someone please explain to me how or in what way liquor is considered ‘essential services’ or even ‘dairies’ compared to shops that sell fruits and vegetables like say Fruit World?

If shops like Fruit World were open in our neighbourhoods, we would not need to go to our local Park and Save or other supermarkets as frequently. Fruits and vegetables are perishable goods and cannot be stored for long, unlike liquor or canned food or toilet rolls. So we need to get them relatively more frequently.

Further, fruits and vegetables help build up our immunity. Sugar does not. And as a side note, liquor does not help reduce domestic violence incidences either. It sometimes fuels them! And in some cases, it serves as an 'excuse' for some to excuse themselves from incorrigible behaviour, like this fellow who must have had sustained intoxication to actually post this video of himself doing what he did:

www.nzherald.co.nz...

How do we convince the government that shops selling fruits and vegetables should be allowed to open? It better not be that we need (yet another) petition to get this done! Who do we write to?

Naseem
Associate Professor, Massey University