richms: I can only assume that sponsorship comes into it with schilling for booze in such a moronic way.
Looks like King's comments were related to a planned fundraiser. The fundraiser event required a liquor license to serve alcohol as part of the event. The police opposed licensing the event. I guess King stepped up to bat, as he is known to do. I'd guess the police didn't want the event to set a precedent or something like that. It's not clear to me what the actual objection was compared to other events.
Presumably the event was not going to be successful in attracting attendees and donations if there was no good time provided by alcohol. It is a common definition of 'a good night' for a lot of people. In any case, the license was granted. That is no longer an issue:
"The event made headlines after Gumboot Friday founder and mental health advocate Mike King told Newstalk ZB on Wednesday that the opposition to the alcohol licence was "ridiculous" and "classic overreach""
It sounds like it was King over-reaching but in practice it's hard to know if his comments made the difference or not. It was a bad look to be seen as encouraging alcohol for mental health there's no doubt about it.
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