A bill that would have raised the legal minimum drinking age in New Zealand from 18 to 20 was soundly defeated by lawmakers, the New Zealand Herald reported Nov. 8.

Members of the New Zealand Parliament voted 72-49 to defeat the bill, which would have reversed a 1999 decision to lower the drinking age from 20 to 18.

Backers of the lower drinking age claimed that 65 to 71 percent of New Zealand residents supported their position. "That decision in 1999 was detrimental. There has been a trickle-down effect and people under 18 now find it easier to get alcohol," said Martin Gallagher, a Labor party member of Parliament and lead sponsor of the defeated bill. "It has had devastating consequences for young people."

But supporters of the age-20 law said lowering the drinking age would just increase illegal, unsupervised drinking and stigmatize responsible 18- and 19-year-olds.

"We will strip away the legal rights of adults," said Green Party MP Metiria Turei. "The problem is the failure to enforce existing law -- there is less of that than there was before 1999."