Collins Judith: Manukau City Council (Control of Graffiti) Bill — First Reading 
Collins Judith: Manukau City Council (Control of Graffiti) Bill — First Reading 
[Volume:628;Page:642] 
JUDITH COLLINS (National—Clevedon) 
: 
 Perhaps I should declare an interest in this bill because I am one of the ratepayers of the Manukau City Council. I am very pleased to be able to support this bill and to say to Mr Hawkins that I do not think it is so controversial; I think anybody with an ounce of common sense will support this bill. It is all about saying to people in local government: “Parliament gives you all these jobs to do and we’re going to give you the tools to do it.” I think it is a fabulous bill. I am very happy to support it. The National Party is happy to support it. I cannot imagine why anybody in this place would not support it because it is just so interesting— 
Nandor Tanczos 
: Flog graffiti artists! 
JUDITH COLLINS 
: Is Mr Tanczos saying we should flog them? That is a terrible thing and I suggest that in the National Party we do not believe in beating children. No no we will not support the flogging of children. 
I will not go over all the details that Mr Hawkins has already given us because he has fully canvassed the bill and done a very good job. 
Hon David Carter 
: He could have been a bit more enthusiastic. 
JUDITH COLLINS 
: Yes he could have been more enthusiastic. But the important fact is that this is kids mostly although not always particularly in the Papakura area which I am also part of although I am a ratepayer in Manukau because the police pick up adults in their 20s defacing property with graffiti. Some are in their 20s and 30s—even grandparents apparently. It beggars belief that anyone of that age and therefore that responsibility could do this to other people’s property. Day in day out businesses home-owners and those who rent those properties have to clean the stuff up. 
Many of us—and Mr Hawkins as a local MP Mr Robertson who is the MP for Manukau East and who will have had exactly the same situation Mr Williamson who is the MP for Pakuranga and those in that particular area will know—have often tried to work with people who sell marker pens spray-paint cans and everything else to get them to put a limit on the age of those to whom they will sell these cans. The problem is that if they do not have the legal standing to do it those people then put themselves in the gun should they get some civil libertarian lawyer coming along saying: “I know best.” 
That is what happened in Papakura which is of course not part of Manukau City but has the same problems when the local police were very very diligent in getting people who had been caught vandalising property with graffiti to clean it up. The local police had them dressed up in little orange outfits required by Occupational Safety and Health which said things like “Police diversion”. I thought it was a very good scheme. But some visiting Queen’s Counsel came through the town saw this and got upset. Of course she does not have to live there work there or have anything to do with the ratepayers. She went to the  
Sunday Star-Times 
 from memory and complained. So what happened? The police were told not to do that any more. So now they have them in orange outfits without “Police diversion”. I thought they looked so much better with “Police diversion” on them. 
That is the sort of thing that local people have to do and those of us who work and live in areas like that are sick of being told by central government: “You sort it out but we’ll give you no tools to deal with it.” It is a very very good initiative for Manukau City and I am sure should it pass successfully through Parliament—and I have a feeling it will—other councils will say that it is about time they had the same initiative or that they would like some of the same powers as well. 
I am not quite sure whether I heard the Minister say that the Government will be supporting it. 
George Hawkins 
: Yes. 
JUDITH COLLINS 
: That is very good and of course with our numbers I am sure it will be just fine. [ 
Interruption 
] I say to Mr Tanczos who is trying to interject that sometimes it is sensible to have a grand coalition that is to the benefit of the people—the people in other words who pay our salaries and the salaries of everyone in this place. So we are very very keen to support the bill. We are very keen to support this local initiative and to give the powers to the people who actually have to live there. I am sick and tired of people in their ivory towers telling us in Manukau City what to do how to do it and where to do it and that we should be really inclusive to the point of being inclusive towards graffiti artists. I tell them to come and walk a mile in our shoes and they will find their tolerance will become zero because ours is. We have had enough.