Yang JianDr JIAN YANG (National): I rise to support this bill which will increase the maximum fine for littering and illegal dumping infringement offences from $400 to $1000. I thank and congratulate the hard-working MP the Hon Scott Simpson and also I would like to congratulate and thank my very good colleague Maureen Pugh. I understand she actually worked very hard and did a fantastic job and drove this bill through the local government sector. The bill had unanimous support from local governments.New Zealand is well-known for its pure green clean image and that is actually the fundamental basis for our flourishing tourism industry. It is important for New Zealand to maintain that image. Also it is important for our residents to have a very clean and safe and also litter-free attractive environment. So that is why it is important to deal with illegal dumping and littering issues in New Zealand. Of course when we do this it's not just for safety or tourism purposes but also because illegal dumping and littering can have many other issues and problems—for example I will say it's dangerous because dumped waste can be dangerous for people particularly when it includes sharp objects and glass.So it is important to make sure that we do not have this issue and to make sure that people stay safe. Also it is costly because to remove this dumped waste can cost councils a lot of money and it means more money for ratepayers. Also for the environment—we want to make sure that the environment is safe not only for people but also for birds and fish so there's another reason. Also when we go to the waste dump areas you'll find that these areas tend to be ugly and therefore the value of the properties in the area can be reduced because of the illegal dumping and also the littering issue.So actually I have done some research online about this particular issue and I find that actually all councils have policies. That means the issue is very common in New Zealand. They all have policies and most councils have this tiered arrangement of fines. Again I can say that all these councils are troubled because the issue has been there for a long time. All councils have fines but the maximum is $400 because that was set by law in 1979. The toughest policy I can find is from the Auckland Council because the Auckland Council would fine $400 for all second or subsequent infringement offences. So all $400 but a maximum still of $400. So still not really enough because since 1979 as my good colleague Scott Simpson just mentioned $400 in 1979 now is equivalent to about $1500. So we do need to increase the fine to make sure that people take notice of this particular issue.Now at this stage many people are still not aware of the fine because the fine itself is not punitive enough because people still do not pay attention to this $400. That's why we say to make it $1000 or even more may be better for us to spread the message. And as a matter of fact in 2007 when Manukau City and Waitakere City councils increased the maximum fine from $100 to $400 the New Zealand Herald had an online discussion and there was overwhelming support for increasing the maximum fine from $100 to $400. This was over 10 years ago. Now it's time for us to deal with the issue and raise it even more. Thank you.