File photo. Photo: RNZ / Richard Tindiller
Dunedin Police are making enquiries after a liquor company supplied hundreds of bottles of alcoholic lemonade to a student flat in Castle Street in exchange for promotion on social media.
The Fridgette flat, famous for hosting annual Flo Week parties, was delivered the booze in time for the gathering on Wednesday night.
Buzz Club Limited is the company which owns Bee alcoholic lemonade. Its directors Edward Eaton and Wilbur Morrison did not respond to Checkpoint's requests for comment today.
Students for Sensible Drug Policy president Max Phillips said 280 bottles - each 1.25 litres with a 5 percent alcohol content - were supplied to the flat.
"That represents about 1300 standard drinks, which is enough to get at least 220-odd people at binge drinking levels, which is a significant amount of alcohol at a single flat."
A police investigation is underway, so he could not make accusations, he said.
"I do think it's lazy and frankly contributes to the alcohol harm that's happening in North Dunedin and just doesn't really take into account the fact that we have already a group of students what we consider ... high-risk group for alcoholic harm and they haven't considered this when supplying a significant amount of alcohol that would directly contribute to the harm that is already going on and pour fuel on the fire."
Flo Week, Phillips said, was a series of parties happening at Castle Street at different named flats (flats that have been around for a long time), and each flat hosted a particular night with a theme.
Students approaching alcohol companies for deals was not new, he said.
"It's not necessarily something that a flat would set out to do, but certainly something that they might consider when they're hosting a Flo Week party in order to help provide not necessarily alcohol like ... they didn't approach this company specifically for alcohol, but for aid in helping host that party."
He said in return companies sought the promotion of their products on social media.
Meanwhile, Checkpoint discovered it was not just Dunedin students who were given free alcohol.
Another student in Christchurch, who asked not to be identified, said she was given six bottles of the Bee alcoholic lemonade for her 21st birthday party after messaging the company on Instagram.
"We DMed (direct messaged) them [the company] on Instagram, it was for my 21st and we were just looking for some free drinks basically and had heard that they were sponsoring other flats, from Instagram story posts, so we just flicked them a DM and they were so nice and generous and gave us six of those bottles."
The student said for every bottle of alcohol, each of her flatmates were asked to promote the beverage on social media.
"My understanding is that the agreement was, because we are such a big flat, because it was six bottles as well, it was six story posts on different Instagram accounts, I believe. So we just took photos of people drinking them throughout the night and uploaded them on our stories."
The student says the six bottles were delivered like a regular online parcel to their door and none of her flatmates were asked for ID.
