Faafoi Kris: Hutt City Council (Graffiti Removal) Bill — Second Reading 
Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume 
Faafoi Kris: Hutt City Council (Graffiti Removal) Bill — Second Reading 
[Sitting date: 15 August 2012. Volume:682;Page:4413. Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume.] 
KRIS FAAFOI (Labour—Mana) 
: 
 I stand in support of this bill the Hutt City Council (Graffiti Removal) Bill. I think the reason it has got widespread support across this House is that everyone in this House acknowledges that when communities look bad they feel bad and that we do need to take some action to make sure that our communities are looking as good as they can. So I do want to congratulate the Hutt City Council and Mayor Ray Wallace and also my Wellington colleague Trevor Mallard on bringing this bill to the House. It does give the Hutt City Council the right to remove graffiti from private property. This is an issue that is not just as many members have already mentioned particular to Lower Hutt. It is also an issue in specific parts of my electorate of Mana. 
I do acknowledge that although this bill gives the Hutt City Council the ability to crack down further on graffiti we do need to acknowledge the work that is already being done to eradicate graffiti—the work that is being done by our local bodies and also by our police to crack down on those people who think it is wise and fun to go out and tag public and private property. I agree with my other Wellington colleague the Hon Annette King that there is an element of “cats spraying their territory” to tagging and the sooner that we can take down graffiti from public places the sooner that we can crack down on these people. I am not sure whether they are all necessarily young but most would be young and that behaviour may lead on to a higher level of offending. In that respect it is making communities feel much much safer. 
I want to acknowledge that Trevor Mallard in his first reading speech said that this if it is a success could be extended out beyond the Hutt City Council area. As the member for Mana I have had conversations with Porirua City Council officers and also councillors and the mayor and they would be very keen for these powers to be extended to them if indeed the Hutt City Council graffiti experience with this bill is a successful one. 
I also want to acknowledge the work that the Porirua City Council is doing. Holly Walker spoke earlier about rapid removal of graffiti and the Porirua City Council is certainly on top of that. But it also looks to implement positive things in the community such as murals which have also been mentioned in this debate already to ensure that there is a good look and a good feel about a community therefore bringing the spirits of the community up. As Trevor Mallard spoke of before it does also have an effect on property prices. 
I think we all in this House have been victims of graffiti usually about every 3 years. When election time comes around we are victims of graffiti. I put a hoarding up on my house and 45 minutes later someone had got to it. I went inside the house and there you go! Someone had managed— 
Hon Trevor Mallard 
: But in my case it’s always an improvement. 
KRIS FAAFOI 
: Yes that is right. Trevor Mallard is still using his photo from 1995 I believe— 
Hon Trevor Mallard 
: 1987. 
KRIS FAAFOI 
: From 1987 sorry. So there is a fair bit of airbrushing that needs to go on. I should not talk for too long in that respect. 
As I said this bill is something that could be broadened out and I would welcome the opportunity for this to be stretched out to the Porirua City Council. As I have mentioned we would certainly welcome that—I as a local electorate MP and the local body representatives. 
I do want to thank the Local Government and Environment Committee. It has made what Trevor Mallard has said are some practical changes to the bill. I note the fact that we are making much more explicit in the bill what graffiti is and also that we have to have a much more explicit system around notification for those people who are private property owners and whom we are going to contact within the provisions of this bill. We are also making sure that the officers within the council have to identify themselves explicitly. I think those are all practical measures in the bill that have come through the select committee stage and are fitting. 
As I say I think that the three local bodies in my electorate—the Wellington City Council the Porirua City Council and the Kapiti Coast District Council—would all welcome being given these powers if the Hutt City Council experience is a successful one. There are some property owners within the Mana electorate who have defied requests from the council to try to get on to their properties to remove a significant amount of graffiti. Although this bill does not compel them to remove that graffiti it does give the local body another option to try to remove the eyesore from the public view. 
In terms of making sure we crack down on that “looks bad feels bad” factor I think this is a positive thing and I think the acknowledgment from across the House that this is a positive thing means that we can all stand here within this Parliament today and support this move by the Hutt City Council and my Wellington colleague the Hon Trevor Mallard.