There is always a way

"Public drinking was banned on the entire Coromandel Peninsula to deter violence during the holiday, and violators could have faced fines up to $250."
https://www.google.com/amp/www.newsweek.com/new-years-drinking-ban-private-island-new-zealand-767602%3famp=1

Most public places have a drinking ban in NZ, violence, drink driving, drunk and disorderly, or as beaches are concerned, drunk swimming are all risks.

It's banned in certain places, and usually only in the streets. In Queenstown it was banned for about a week over the New Year period, but only in a zone along the waterfront, and only if you were out on the streets, so pubs and personal residences were fine

It's not NZ wide, and it's zoned. In Queenstown it was the waterfront, but not the water itself