Sabin Mike: Summary Offences (Possession of Hand-held Lasers) Amendment Bill — First ReadingText is incorporated into the Bound VolumeSabin Mike: Summary Offences (Possession of Hand-held Lasers) Amendment Bill — First Reading[Sitting date: 25 September 2013. Volume:693;Page:13743. Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume.]MIKE SABIN (National—Northland): It is always a pleasure to follow the member Richard Prosser—Hon Christopher Finlayson: Why?MIKE SABIN: I have got only 5 minutes Minister; I do not want to lose too much of it. I just want to commend Cam Calder for this member’s bill the Summary Offences (Possession of Hand-held Lasers) Amendment Bill. Although there is obviously support across the House for it I do not think we should underestimate how significant a risk these lasers actually do pose. If anyone has any doubts about that it is actually not that hard to pull up some footage in some of the warring nations in the Middle East. If we have a look we will actually see that there are people trying to take down aircraft with laser lights. They are doing it by the hundreds. So it is actually used in a sense as a weapon of warfare. While we can jest to some extent about laser pointers that may be used in a classroom or used to—Mr Lees-Galloway plays with his cat or something with it as far as I can be aware there.Iain Lees-Galloway: Try it. It’s hours of entertainment.MIKE SABIN: Well there you go—hours of entertainment with his pussy. We can make light of that but the reality is that these lasers have been used in an offensive manner.David Bennett: Ha ha! That’s the best line of the day.Iain Lees-Galloway: Hey David you’re even redder than normal mate.MIKE SABIN: They have been used in a manner in which the lives of New Zealand citizens are actually put at risk. I do not want to get Mr Lees-Galloway too excited by that but clearly it has.It has been discussed that although the Labour Party will be supporting it it is a Clayton’s support where members will support it but will ask many stern questions at the select committee. Members raised the valid issue of whether or not we should measure the strength of the lasers and make it an offence only if they are over a certain strength. I think what we could do is draw a comparison to the unlawful possession of a knife. That is a very similar type of offence in the sense that a knife in itself is not an offensive weapon unless the context in which it is carried or possessed is one in which it has an unlawful intent. In that offence it is not a case that the length of the knife is the issue because if anyone has ever been confronted with a knife as I was as a police officer a knife that is the length of a finger can do just as much damage as one that is the length of an arm if it is used in the right place. I would liken that to the situation in this bill and put it in the same category. It is not about the scale or the calibre of the weapon or the laser in this case; it is about the purpose and the intention for which it is being carried and how it will be used. I think that is where Mr Calder intends this conversation to be focused—[Interruption] Dr Calder—Dr Calder absolutely.When all is said and done most people will have lasers for various reasons and most of them will be lawful. But it is the ratbags and Mr Prosser alluded to the fact that if we could legislate for stupidity—or what was it Mr Prosser; I cannot quite recall now—Chris Auchinvole: Irresponsibility.MIKE SABIN: —irresponsibility stupidity or what have you well this House would be a lot emptier that is for sure. If only we could legislate to make people more responsible but the reality is legislation goes only so far when it comes to personal responsibility. What we have to get right is sending the right sort of message and creating the right boundaries where we do not penalise those who go about life in a lawful purpose whether it be with a knife or with a laser but where we ensure that those who choose to use them for an unlawful purpose are actually deterred from that and are subject to some sort of criminal sanction or some sort of—[Bell rung] Does that give me a minute left sir? One minute—there we go.As we take this matter forward to the select committee as I say I want to commend Cam Calder because many a pilot in New Zealand has been subject to this. We have seen it with police helicopters we have seen it with rescue helicopters and we have seen it with planes landing at Wellington Airport. There are some dangerous idiots out there and this legislation needs to send a very clear message that if you take something that has a lawful purpose and use it unlawfully there will be a consequence. Actually it is time to reflect on that stupidity and sheet it home to the people who are responsible and the people who are responsible are those who as I say will take a lawful product and use it for an unlawful purpose. Are you happy with that Mr Deputy Speaker? I am happy to sit down. I commend it to the House.