Wagner NickyHon NICKY WAGNER (National): Thank you very much Madam Assistant Speaker. It's been a really interesting night. We've heard lots of speeches from the other side of the House about how terrible littering is and about how New Zealanders don't like litter. We've heard lots of stories of unspeakable messes on our beaches dumping of clothes fish heads all sorts of things around this place and we've also heard that New Zealanders like to keep New Zealand clean and green. And yet after all that angst after all those issues that are happening in our communities the other side won't vote for this very small but elegant bill that will make a difference.So I don't know if they're trying to be a little bit obtuse but this is about raising the maximum dollar sign of an infringement from $400 to $1000. It doesn't mean that you have to charge somebody $1000 for dropping a cigarette butt. What it means is you have a choice between $1 and $1000 to make sure that you can craft the fine that suits the crime—the fine that suits the crime. And we've heard there are plenty of littering crimes happening in our communities at the moment.I agree that New Zealanders are really proud of living in a clean green country. They're keen to look after it and—I agree with Mr Strange—they do like to maybe refuse reuse and recycle their waste. But some people a small minority don't; they litter. And what's more not only do they litter but they also fly-tip and they illegal dump right across our communities. We heard in select committee that councils are really struggling to manage this. It's costing them millions of dollars and in Auckland alone it cost $5 million a year to clean this stuff up. The councils want this bill because they believe it will help. Now of course litter looks untidy but that's only the start. Litter and rubbish are strewn by the winds by the waterways by the oceans right across our environment. They clog up our drains they strangle the waterways and often they strangle wildlife—and we've all seen photographs of plastic around fish necks and seals and things like that. Litter is unhealthy for humans as well. It attracts vermin and it's a breeding ground for bacteria. And as it decomposes it pollutes both water and soil. And an interesting fact which I think has been raised over the other side about the number of cigarette butts that are littered and get into our environment: they take over 10 years to decompose. For over a decade their toxic waste is going into our environment.So I do support this bill. I think if we want to deter littering—and we've heard right across the House tonight that we do want to deter littering and most New Zealanders agree and all the councils agree—that an increased amount for this infringement tells people that this is a serious issue. A significant fine is valid because littering costs councils and I just want to divert a bit: when we say costs councils" actually it costs ratepayers. It costs ratepayers—you and me and everybody else—to pick up this litter to clean up the environment. It threatens our natural environment and it threatens wildlife. So I'm particularly disappointed when we hear the other side understanding the dangers of littering understanding that people don't want it understanding the costs and yet they're still not prepared to vote for this bill. They are quite happy to accept the damage that littering's doing to our environment and our wildlife and our community amenity because littered communities are not people friendly. They give an air of neglect. They make people feel that nobody cares. They're a depressing place and they undermine the amenity of our communities. I think it's really important that we deter littering. Most New Zealanders do and I really hope that the rest of the House would vote for this bill. Kia ora."