The council is going to draft a by-law to ban drinking in public places.

But don’t worry, respectable citizens! It’s not aimed at you! It’s aimed at pesky boozers.

Extending the liquor ban would mean we could deal with problems in the suburbs. It wouldn’t be about stopping people having a quiet beer or a glass of wine on the beach or in the park – and the Police are already on the record as saying they would use discretion.

Another "x-ing while brown" offence in the making.

They break bottles, yell and swear, vomit and create chaos – but there’s nothing the Police can really do at the moment about the drinking of alcohol – which is generally the cause of the problems.

This is a puzzler. If people are behaving badly, that’s disorderly behaviour. If they’re not, who cares whether they’re drinking?

If only there were somewhere for hardcore street drinkers to go. Meanwhile, wasting police time on herding them around the city is apparently the only way out.

There’s a Facebook group in opposition. Here’s hoping that’s just a start.