Calder Cam: Summary Offences (Possession of Hand-held Lasers) Amendment Bill — First ReadingText is incorporated into the Bound VolumeCalder Cam: Summary Offences (Possession of Hand-held Lasers) Amendment Bill — First Reading[Sitting date: 04 September 2013. Volume:693;Page:13306. Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume.]Dr CAM CALDER (National): I moveThat the Summary Offences (Possession of Hand-held Lasers) Amendment Bill be now read a first time. I nominate the Transport and Industrial Relations Committee to consider the bill.I am privileged to have my office in the vibrant and diverse electorate of Manurewa. The Manurewa electorate isoverflown by upwards of 140000 flights annually. Some years ago I became aware of the risks posed to pilots on their final approach from cockpit illumination with readily available handheld laser pointers. Laser pointers though used by teachers researchers astronomers and university lecturers in the course of their daily work safely and without incident assume an altogether more sinister role when used to illuminate a plane’s cockpit. Thesequelae temporary vision loss in its various forms can have potentially catastrophic consequences not only for those in the aircraft but also for those in the communities around airports or on the approach paths thereto. I was surprised to learn that each year in excess of 100 cases of handheld lasers being used in such a manner have been documented in New Zealand alone and the incidence of their misuse shows no sign of decreasing.I consulted with the New Zealand Air Line Pilots’ Association the Civil Aviation Authority and the Police Association. All agreed that preventative measures need to be put in place to reduce the chance of laser misuse occurring. I discussed my concerns with Ministers. After a period of consultation on 15 May 2013 the Governmentannounced that handheld lasers strong enough to be a hazard to aircraft will be subject to new import sale and supply controls under health and customs legislation. Their use will be restricted to authorised users who have a legitimate purpose such as astronomers researchers and the New Zealand Defence Force. An order under the Customs and Excise Act 1996 and regulations under the Health Act 1956 to control these devices are being drafted and I expect that the new controls will be in effect by the end of the year. These new regulations mesh with and complement the proposed Summary Offences (Possession of Hand-held Lasers) Amendment Bill.The regulations will dramatically reduce the number of new lasers coming into the country and people who will have access to them. There are however an unknown number of handheld lasers already in New Zealand. The legislation will make it perfectly clear that it is unacceptable to be in possession of these handheld lasers in a public place without reasonable excuse. The bill is designed to have a preventative aspect and will reduce the likelihood of misuse by individuals of any of the unknown thousands of laser devices already in our country. My research indicated that the problem with laser pointer misuse had been acknowledged all over New Zealand and indeed was a well-known problem internationally.I was concerned to find there was currently no legislation to control the carriage of such a potentially offensive weapon despite section 13A of the Summary Offences Act being in force for the carriage of a knife in a public place. Society has decreed in its wisdom that it is not in the interests of the safety and well-being of our citizenry if knives are routinely carried on one’s person. Obviously knives can all too readily inflict grievous wounds or potentially be used to kill an individual; hence carrying them routinely is discouraged by section 13A. Section 13A could be said to have a preventative role. The legislation is not designed to capture a family going on a picnic that needs a sharp knife to cut a tomato and is applied with due cognisance of circumstances.Obviously a high-powered laser pointer has the potential to cause visual damage to an individual but because the range of a laser pointer can be measured in miles the potential collateral damage of such visual disturbance to the pilot of an aircraft or to the driver of a large vehicle is huge. A simple trawl on the internet shows that high-powered lasers of up to 800milliwatts in power are readily available. They are advertised as 532-nanometre green lasers to impress even the serious professionals. The light can burst balloons melt plastic light matches and have a range of up to 60 miles—yes 60 miles. Handheld lasers range in size from a small pen to a torch and are readily carried in a pocket. Yet because of their ability to interfere with a person’s vision at a huge distance they are potentially far more dangerous than a simple knife. It is ridiculous that something so small can pack so much punch and yet its carriage remains completely uncontrolled.Laser pointers are available in a wide range of strengths from a power level of less than 0.39milliwatts as seen in compact disc players or laser printers—so-called class 1—right up to class 4 with a level of 500milliwatts or above which may cause eye and skin damage even from reflected beams. Outdoor and industrial laser pointers belong to this category. But as we have mentioned many lasers of this strength are easily carried in the hand and are virtually indistinguishable from the lower-powered variety.Already this year we have seen further instances of where laser misuse has endangered the safety of the public in New Zealand. Members of the House may recall that in late April two aircraft were targeted at Wellington Airport one on take-off the other on landing. Airline companyJetstar labelled the laser strike as highly irresponsible. Commenting on the laser strike from the airport Police Sergeant Brett Cousins stated that it could have caused multiple fatalities.Stu Julian from the AirlinePilots’ Association observed that it had not yet associated lasers with the same capability as a gun but that they can cause loss of life.In early March theNew Zealand Herald outlined an instance from the “Surely Some Mistake” file. Two particularly challenged young men thought it fun to engage with the police’s Eagle helicopter. Not content with illuminating the cockpit once they did it half a dozen times for 5 to 10 seconds at a time and continued according to the Crown prosecutor to inflict very intense flashes on the cockpit even as the chopper was hovering above them directing a ground patrol on to them. In his summing up and sentencing JudgeNevin Dawson said: “The results could have been catastrophic. There was potential for very tragic consequences. People need to get the message that this offending is not just a foolish prank.” Speaking of the case New Zealand Airline Pilots’ Association President Glen Kenny said: “The handheld laser threat is an on-going public safety concern and today’s result should strengthen the safety message and make people think twice before they shine a laser at an aircraft”. Because these individuals were apprehended actually using a laser against a moving vehicle or aircraft they were successfully prosecuted under section 270 of the Crimes Act.It is pertinent to note that cheap common and readily available class 3 lasers with a power less than 5milliwatts can have a range in excess of 11000 feet or 2 miles. This can seriously interfere with a pilot’s night vision. I have here in my hand one of these lasers of that nature. You can see how strong that light is if I just shine it directly above us and that can go for some 11000 feet.What is the effect of a laser beam when illuminating an aircraft cockpit on a night approach to an airfield? Temporary vision loss is of course one of the most common and potentially dangerous effects of cockpit illumination. It can be associated with glare flash blindness blind spots or after-images. Glare is considered to be a temporary disruption in vision caused by the presence of a bright light within an individual’s field of vision and lasting as long as the light exposure. In flash blindness the temporary loss of vision persists after the source of illumination has been removed. Blind spots are similar to flash blindness but only part of the visual field is affected. An after-image is an image that remains in the visual field after exposure to a bright light. The US Federal Aviation Administration simulator studies about the effects of laser illumination during final approach show that a legal laser of the size I just demonstrated can easily cause glare and distract pilots up to 3700 feet and remain a distraction hazard up to 11000 feet—in excess of 2 miles. Near flash blindness is a potential problem in the last stages of final approach at a range of 350 feet. Thus we have a wide range of effects from laser misuse determined by the distance away an affected person is from the source of the laser beam.As I have mentioned serious consequences can also eventuate if laser beams are shone into the eyes of the driver of any moving vehicle. Imagine the consequences if a beam were shone into the eyes of the driver of a fuel tanker on a motorway at night. Imagine the consequences and the potential for tragedy of that event.The purpose of this amendment bill is to have a preventative aspect and to reduce the likelihood of a person being in a position to carry out an offence with any one of the countless thousands of devices already in New Zealand. The bill will complement the effect of regulations restricting the importation sale and accessibility of laser pointers. The bill will send a clear message that these devices are not toys that they have the potential to cause significant harm and that without reasonable excuse their carriage in a public place will not be tolerated. I seek the support of the House for the Summary Offences (Possession of Hand-held Lasers) Amendment Bill to progress to the select committee.