Twyford PhilSMOKE-FREE ENVIRONMENTS (PROHIBITING SMOKING IN MOTOR VEHICLES CARRYING CHILDREN) AMENDMENT BILLFirst ReadingHon PHIL TWYFORD (Minister of Transport) on behalf of the Associate Minister of Health: I move That the Smoke-free Environments (Prohibiting Smoking in Motor Vehicles Carrying Children) Amendment Bill be now read a first time. I nominate the Health Committee to consider the bill. This bill is first and foremost about protecting children. Secondly it's part of this Government's commitment to achieving Smokefree Aotearoa 2025. This bill will help protect our future generations from the dangers of second-hand smoke exposure. Simeon Brown: What about cannabis? Hon PHIL TWYFORD: This bill also supports New Zealand's responsibilities to protect children's health and wellbeing under the United Nations Convention—Simeon Brown: From cannabis? Hon PHIL TWYFORD: —on the Rights of the Child. SPEAKER: Order! The member will resume his seat. I think we'll let the member get going with his speech and we will not have repetitive interjections that are exactly the same. So that's the warning for the member. Hon PHIL TWYFORD: Too many New Zealand children particularly Māori and Pacific children are exposed to second-hand smoke in the vehicles they usually travel in. Children are particularly vulnerable to the harmful effects of second-hand smoke due to their smaller lungs higher respiratory rate and immature immune systems.Second-hand smoke accumulates in vehicles even with the windows open. It reaches much higher levels than in homes. Public education and social marketing campaigns about the danger of second-hand smoke exposure in vehicles carried out over many years have had some impact but the rate of reduction in children exposed to smoking in vehicles has slowed. It's now time to do more by legislating.The strong public support for this bill—consistently around 90 percent support—has been shown through multiple surveys for prohibiting smoking in vehicles carrying children. A number of jurisdictions already prohibit smoking in vehicles carrying children including Australia most Canadian provinces and the United Kingdom. Parliamentary consideration of prohibiting smoking in motor vehicles carrying children has previously taken place. The Health Committee recommended a prohibition but the recommendation was not accepted by the previous Government.This is a very short and straightforward bill. As the title suggests the bill prohibits smoking in motor vehicles carrying child occupants—anyone under the age of 18. While this bill proposes that the police will have the ability to issue an infringement fee of $50 it's important to note that enforcement efforts would focus on public education and changing social norms. Police have discretion to issue warnings or information or referrals to stop-smoking support services.The 18-month proposed lead-in period will be used for public education and establishing police systems and training. The Health Promotion Agency will run a new and innovative public education social marketing campaign that would be targeted to priority groups using a range of media platforms.We saw compliance happen very quickly when bars cafes and restaurants went smoke-free. The 2004 law change was successful in achieving very high compliance in workplaces licensed premises and other legislated smoke-free areas. Very few prosecutions—under 50—have had to be taken in 15 years.The bill makes the person smoking liable rather than the driver of the vehicle. This is to reduce the possibility of driver distraction if they were held responsible for any smoking in the vehicle while children under 18 were present—for example having to turn around and tell someone to stop smoking. It's my intention that vaping and the use of smokeless tobacco products—for example heat-not-burn products—will also be prohibited in vehicles carrying children under the age of 18. This will be achieved with the Smoke-free Environments (Vaping) Amendment Bill which the Minister intends to progress through Parliament in 2019. That bill will propose to prohibit vaping and the use of smokeless tobacco products in all legislated smoke-free areas.Finally I want to bring the focus back to our children and young people. This coalition Government is putting wellbeing and child wellbeing at the front and centre of our policy agenda. We're focused on changes that will help New Zealand become the best place in the world to be a child. This is another important step that is necessary to protect children and young people—our future generations—and it's part of the Government's continuing commitment to achieving the 2025 smoke-free goal. I look forward on behalf of the Minister to the Health Committee's consideration of the bill and I commend this bill to the House.