Blumsky Mark: Local Government Law Reform Bill — In Committee 
Blumsky Mark: Local Government Law Reform Bill — In Committee 
[Volume:632;Page:3810] 
MARK BLUMSKY (National) 
: 
 I have pleasure in speaking on Part 2 which concerns the Litter Act 1979. Just before I talk about this specific legislation I will take the chance—which I did not previously because of the dog microchipping part—to say how much I have enjoyed working on the Local Government and Environment Committee. I am new to the select committee and I have been very impressed by the quality of the official advice we have had. I have also been very impressed with the committee’s work ethic and in this specific case it has had to do a heck of a lot of work to cover this omnibus bill in a very short space of time. How well the committee has done that has exceeded my expectations—ably led by the committee secretariat of Beth and co. I want to put that on record. 
When I walk around the city with my not-to-be-microchipped dog there are a couple of things that very much get my goat: litter and graffiti. In this case I will specifically talk about litter. “Pride” is a wonderful word. When people have pride in their city they talk about it and become absolutely positive about it. Is it not disappointing when we see that people have unashamedly littered the street and ignored the receptacles that are in place and have just abused the pride that others have in their city? Those people have no concern at all about the mess they leave—in this case on the Wellington City streets but I am sure what I am saying will strike a chord with most towns and cities in New Zealand. 
People who have no pride litter and they need to be totally held to account for that littering. Part 2 is a very good opportunity for Parliament to send a very strong message to those who litter that they jolly well should not because goodness me if they go down that path it will cost them a heck of a lot. So I was very very pleased to be part of the select committee that has totally endorsed the opportunity to lift the fines in particular. The fines that are put in place via this legislation are quite considerable and send a very clear message. 
At the same time I also take the opportunity to applaud those city councils out there that spend a lot of energy and time on picking up and cleaning up after people who just make a jolly mess. A clear message is being sent to those who litter that we will not tolerate it through the very significant lift in fines. In many cases we are increasing tenfold the fine we are looking to apply to those people. That applies not just to those who litter the streets but also to those who dump their rubbish over the fence. Unfortunately many people do dump rubbish over the fence or drive out into the wilderness and throw it down a bank which is a disgraceful course of action that unfortunately far too many take. I assure members now that clause 18 in Part 2 specifically addresses those people and very much lifts the fine for those who deposit or leave litter in a public place or on private land without the consent of its occupier. 
In the select committee we discussed the need to lift the fine in this area because as waste becomes more of a topic of conversation and as waste minimisation becomes very much where we need to head in the future there will be a temptation by some to throw their rubbish over the fence or on the way to the tip to have it accidentally fall off the back of their trolley car truck and so on and unashamedly leave it. In section 15 of the Litter Act that we are referring to there will be a fine not exceeding $20000 for body corporates or $5000 for individuals. That should very much be a blockage to those people wanting to throw rubbish away in that manner. 
One of the other things I would like to take the opportunity to talk about in relation to Part 2 is liability and prosecution. I will let the Minister of Local Government attend to that because it is quite an important piece of the legislation.