Barry Maggie: Hutt City Council (Graffiti Removal) Bill — First Reading 
Barry Maggie: Hutt City Council (Graffiti Removal) Bill — First Reading 
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MAGGIE BARRY (National—North Shore) 
: 
 I rise to support the Hutt City Council (Graffiti Removal) Bill at its first reading. It is interesting that I am following Andrew Williams who of course is familiar with the North Shore and familiar with the kinds of blots on the landscape that are not only to do with graffiti but also to do with the principle and the psychology really behind graffiti. Psychologists liken it to dogs marking their territory when they go up against a tree or some other such object— 
Hon Trevor Mallard 
: I raise a point of order Mr Speaker 
MAGGIE BARRY 
: Yes Trevor. 
Mr DEPUTY SPEAKER 
: The member should just sit when a point of order has been called. 
Hon Trevor Mallard 
: That sort of instruction could be used more broadly in this circumstance I think. This is a bill that has been debated in I think a relatively pleasant manner. The member is heading into what is a clear personal attack and should be stopped. 
Mr DEPUTY SPEAKER 
: I think the point of order perhaps prevented something that may or may not have happened and I can only best guess what that might be. I think it is a general warning: members should debate the bill. 
MAGGIE BARRY 
: In response to the interruption I would like to finish what I was saying. The psychology behind the people who do graffiti and tagging is that they make a mark on something in the same way that dogs make a mark to mark their territory. If you do not clean it off within a very short period of time then it is marked again by others whether it is by a tagger or a dog lifting its leg. If the point is clear I am happy to make it and move on.  
The key thing with graffiti and zero tolerance is that it does need to be cleared up because it is a blot on the landscape. I would agree with Trevor Mallard that there are many examples around the country. I too have been impressed with the mural at Wainuiomata. It is indeed a treasure. When something good does emerge in an urban landscape it is respected by all corners of society. It seems to me that that is a distinction and that is something that when the bill goes to select committee will need to be examined: the definition of what is graffiti and what is a public place. These things do need careful definition and the select committee is the appropriate place to debate those which is a good thing I feel. I am on the Local Government and Environment Committee and I will have the opportunity to tease that out.  
The thing about graffiti is that it has worked terrifically well—the zero tolerance and some of the other initiatives that have been raised. Katrina Shanks talked earlier about Adopt-a-Spot. I have been involved in a public memorial in Auckland at the AIDS memorial grove which has been graffitied by strange and twisted people. The immediate clearing up of the graffiti and then the application of a graffiti guard which makes the clearing off a very easy process is a good thing. I approve of these notions and approve of the idea that you try to put in preventative measures or ones that are not going to be at a great cost to the public purse.  
All of these things can be discussed and I think that the overall thrust of this bill is a very good one. For anyone who has been to Lower Hutt recently it is apparent that there are major issues there and it has been an issue for a very long time. I would imagine that if this Hutt City Council (Graffiti Removal) Bill does go through in the form that is being proposed or in some amended state as a result of the select committee process then it will in fact be something that might be able to be located relocated and applied in other parts of the country as well. So I commend it; I think it is an excellent idea but there are a lot of aspects within it that do need further discussion.  
I agree with what has been said about the negative impact of graffiti. I feel that it is something that has to be cleared away right away and there needs to be a public unity around this because these people who do it are not very much in the mainstream but more on the fringes of society. I am looking forward to it coming before the select committee that I am a part of and to debating it in more detail at that time.