Jones Shane: Summary Offences (Tagging and Graffiti Vandalism) Amendment Bill — Second Reading 
Jones Shane: Summary Offences (Tagging and Graffiti Vandalism) Amendment Bill — Second Reading 
[Volume:647;Page:16082] 
Hon SHANE JONES (Minister for Building and Construction) 
: 
 Tena koe Madam Assistant Speaker. I rise to take a short call for fear that anyone in the north will believe that the view of my colleague and whanaunga Hone Harawira reflects the entirety of the Tai Tokerau. 
I know that it is slightly treacherous territory for the words etc. of this House to become mixed up but recently we have had some decisions out of our District Court in the Hawke’s Bay area that have given weight to the fear anger and frustration that ordinary everyday garden variety Kiwi families feel when they wake up and find that their properties—which they have worked away at in struggler’s gully to amass enough dough to afford—have been defaced. 
If there is one myth being peddled that must be stopped it is that somehow we can compare graffiti to the moko. Well the word “moko” is very close to the word “muku” which means to wipe one’s backside after doing business. And that is what graffiti looks like to me; there is not a single redeeming feature. I have wandered around places such as outside the Taipa School not far from where my parents and I come from after I have woken up in the morning and seen that some young waster has gone there and defaced local school property with something that would offend any mother or any wife. We should be fearful of it when we see it because it reflects markings belonging to a gang. The only reason young people are doing that is that their habits are beginning to resemble those of the canine variety. 
It might be said that this is an overreaction but it is not an overreaction when people are beginning to experience daily regular fear. One or two things happen. If the State is unable to bring forward sanctions then communities are filled with a vigilante fervour. Then the people who are in control of or working with the youngsters who are tagging—and they are not all young—begin to fear that their hold over the community is being threatened and it causes them to become bolder and more dangerous. The notion that we should stand back in this House and allow those elements to increase their reach whether in Heretaunga Tai Tokerau or South Auckland is abhorrent. I do not wish any particular taggers a life of misery but if they are going to be miserable then please spare me from it and please spare our communities from those habits. 
This bill ought to be supported. Earlier speakers are correct: it will not wipe out all the motivations that make people tag. But if this bill gives further strength to the judiciary—District Court judges—to get these young gang-related taggers and give them a holiday in the hinaki to bring them to their senses then it is money well spent in my view. It is not very good for the parents of those young children and having seven kids myself I do know what it is like to have ups and downs with kids who go around and get into trouble occasionally. This is a matter of constant ongoing threats not only to private property but to the meaning and affection that people are putting into their homes. That is why this bill is a clear statement that that element in society in the community must not be allowed to hold the community to ransom. 
If they want to create some art they should go down to the Sunday schools and teach the mokopunas how to draw a picture. If they want to enhance art and carving they should go down to the marae which are being run largely by volunteer kuia and kaumatua. The average tagger is associated with gangs. They are not doing enough to uphold those institutions that give us our identity. There is no single contribution or redeemable quality associated with these young taggers in terms of their making a strong contribution to Maori culture. So we must never ever let it be said that they are at the forefront of a new version of Maori art; they are at the forefront of Maori art spelt with the letter “f” in front. I salute this bill. Kia ora tatou.