Hereora Dave: Manukau City Council (Control of Graffiti) Bill — Third Reading 
Hereora Dave: Manukau City Council (Control of Graffiti) Bill — Third Reading 
[Volume:646;Page:15754] 
DAVE HEREORA (Labour) 
: 
 Before I begin I too extend and convey condolences to the families for their loss through the tragedy at Tongariro. 
I will start by sharing with members this evening the comments made by Judge Adeane who handed down in court a 28-day sentence to a tagger. He said that “tagging is neither art nor culture but covert criminal behaviour.” He went on to say “It is a serious crime that destroys property causes untold misery for ordinary householders and businesses and costs hundreds of thousands of dollars annually to clean up.” I thought it was appropriate that I preface my contribution with those comments. I have heard from earlier speakers this evening about graffiti being quite a delightful expression of art. Some have described it as being vandalism. I quote my colleague Ross Robertson who said it was part of an “ugly odious expression”. I will also mention the comments from the Green member that graffiti or people who use graffiti show signs of poverty and alienation. 
I suppose that no matter what category one fits into at the end of the day we all become subjected to being victims of graffiti—whether personally by the stuff being put on our fences or property or by knowing a person who has been a victim of graffiti. I think that describes the web of graffiti and how it affects our community and society. It has become a serious problem. I will also comment on the earlier comments of ACT member Rodney Hide. He said that currently the law is enough to fix the problem and that the police through the law are amply armed to fix the problem and he mentioned the property rights issue. 
I will share with that member that about 18 months ago I was invited to a community meeting in the city of Papakura. Graffiti is a real problem within that community. I said to the community that even I was a victim of graffiti. It was not long after the last election that I put up my corflute signs with a handsome picture of me on them—and they got graffitied as well. The community at that stage came up with a plan. It was quite a simple plan. They decided to contribute collectively to helping the police eradicate the problem. They understood that the police with the legislation could not do it on their own so they decided to band together to reinitiate their Neighbourhood Watch schemes and to get involved in the Blue Light programme. They actively found a practical way of assisting the police to do their job. I have to say that the police do a good job but they cannot fix this on their own. Eighteen months down the track I cannot confirm to the House that the problem is fixed but at the very least I know that the issue surrounding graffiti has decreased dramatically. That is through a very simple initiative of people banding together and helping out. 
I will also make a comment on the statement that Dr Sharples made in relation to the gangs being a part of the solution to the graffiti problem. I say to Dr Sharples that I have two children who go to college. On the way home they get targeted by youth gangs. They target them at a very vulnerable time of the day. They use graffiti as an unfettered tool to try to recruit youths because they understand that graffiti breaks down the very disciplines that are necessary to offset it. The biggest problem with breaking down those disciplines is that it also affects the communication between that child and his or her family. So I do not accept Dr Sharples’ comments that the gangs should be part of the solution. On the other hand it is my view that they contribute to the problem. I think his comments were quite short-sighted. 
We understand that graffiti is a major problem for local councils throughout New Zealand. I acknowledge the work of the current council through Len Brown but also mention that Sir Barry Curtis was constantly on my back about the issue of graffiti. I understand that he originally sponsored a bill as well. To that end I also acknowledge George Hawkins. I have stayed in George Hawkins’ Manurewa electorate and graffiti is a huge problem there and has been ongoing for some time. I commend George for taking the initiative to bring this issue to the fore. I congratulate George for the work he has done. With my other colleagues in South Auckland—Ross Robertson and our new member Su’a William Sio—I acknowledge that graffiti is a problem within the Manukau area and within the greater part of Auckland. We see this bill as an added tool as added ammunition to help the community and the police to deal with this problem. Kia ora tatou.