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There is a call for the Governor General to refuse to sign a law which parliament passed despite knowing it contained a drafting error.
The Local Government (Prohibition of Liquor in Public Places) Amendment Bill was meant to give local authorities greater power to designated specific trouble spots as alcohol free zones.
But the error will now give police the power to seize alcohol from anyone carrying or drinking alcohol in any public place under the jurisdiction of a local authority.
The government tried to introduce an amendment to correct the error but was vetoed by Act and the Green Party.
An executive member of the Auckland Council for Civil Liberties, Phil Recordan, says parliament's actions are extraordinary, and the Governor General should refuse to sign the legislation into law.
How do you get liquor home then?
The Hospitality Industry Association has warned that innocent people carrying alcohol home or to a restaurant could be caught out by the new law.
Hospitality Industry Association chief executive Bruce Robertson says it could cause serious problems.
Robertson is urging the police to turn a blind eye to people possessing alcohol in such circumstances.
Local Government New Zealand is issuing advice to the country's 74 local authorities on the new legislation.
Local Government New Zealand head Peter Winder says the new police powers take effect only when the legislation is invoked by a local body to cover a particular area.
Winder says most councils won't be able to implement the legislation before New Year's Eve as special meetings are required.
He says they will have to rely on existing alcohol bans.
Cullen throws mud, Nats and Greens return it
The leader of the house, Michael Cullen, says ACT and the Greens have been childish and petty in not giving leave to amend the legislation.
Cullen says the bungle would not have occured if the Greens and Act had allowed one word to be changed in the law.
He says the problem will be fixed by a future piece of legislation.
But National leader Bill English says the government has made a mess of the situation.
English says that the government must take responsibility for the problem because of its attitude to other parties.
He says National put forward a bill that would have have achieved what was wanted concerning drinking in public places 12 months ago, but the government did not pick it up.
And the Greens says government haste in pushing legislation through parliament has caused the confusion over drinking in public places.
Green MP Sue Bradford says that the government must take responsibility because it was ramming bills through parliament.
She says she believes the legislation contravenes a number of provisions in the Bill of Rights.
