Auchinvole Chris: Summary Offences (Possession of Hand-held Lasers) Amendment Bill — First ReadingText is incorporated into the Bound VolumeAuchinvole Chris: Summary Offences (Possession of Hand-held Lasers) Amendment Bill — First Reading[Sitting date: 25 September 2013. Volume:693;Page:13745. Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume.]CHRIS AUCHINVOLE (National): I too would like to congratulate Dr Cam Calder on a thoughtful considered concerned piece of very serious legislation. Good legislation can often be identified early on in good speeches and this bill the Summary Offences (Possession of Hand-held Lasers) Amendment Bill I think has generated a number of interesting speeches already. It is a compliment to all those who have given their speeches—Sue Moroney: Oh thank you.CHRIS AUCHINVOLE: —I am not sure about Iain Lees-Galloway’s speech; no it was all right it was all right—but also it is a compliment to the author of the bill.David Bennett: And the select committee.CHRIS AUCHINVOLE: All right and the Transport and Industrial Relations Committee and the chairman of the select committee—we will get it right. This bill has produced some interesting speeches from all around the House.I thought that Mike Sabin introduced a very interesting perspective from his earlier career as a law enforcer in that he sort of emphasised that it is not enough just to have a law that risks making people more inventive than more honest; there have to be consequences attached to their not staying within the law. That is why I worry a little bit about Labour thinking that this bill is perhaps going a little bit too far and asking whether we could weaken it down a bit and I think that should be discussed properly within the select committee—Iain Lees-Galloway: It’s already illegal to do it.CHRIS AUCHINVOLE: —and I look forward to that. Say that again?Iain Lees-Galloway: It’s already illegal to actually point a laser at an aircraft. This is about possession.CHRIS AUCHINVOLE: Well yes I will cover that. I might have thought that that was a little bit late if you were thinking of stopping things by law. “No you shouldn’t have done that. That’s no good.”—that was I think MikeSabin’s point of view. You cannot leave it that late. The misuse of these instruments puts New Zealanders’ lives at risk. National is committed to ensuring the safety of New Zealanders using the transport system so that it is not compromised. This bill ensures the proper regulation of devices that pose a threat to the safety of New Zealanders and it is the threat that you are required to deal with.It is not just larrikins is it? It is not just larrikins. There can be really disturbed people.David Bennett: Like New Zealand First members!CHRIS AUCHINVOLE: Now now. There can be really disturbed people and there are those—and we live in a country that is relatively free from it—who are inclined towards terrorism. So is it over the top? I do not think so—I do not think so. Hand-held lasers can be used at football matches or any crowd scene. Darien Fenton called it madness. Yes it is. It is madness and we cannot presume sanity on the basis of who might use these things. Let us think back to some of the crazy things that have happened in the past such as stones or bricks being chucked offoverbridges on motorways presumably just for laughs. Dreadful things can happen and you have to have consequences attached to breaking the law. I am particularly glad to see that the Greens have seen sense through the voice of Mr Clendon recognising that there are dangers and that they cannot pursue their normal standpoint which I respect of liberty for all. Well this is not liberty for all. This is liberty for some without this law and dangers for others. There are dangers and there is no such thing as an inoffensive laser light.There will be inoffensive proper uses and these are the things that select committees are there to consider. I do not doubt that we will have people whose eyesight perhaps is not as good as that of our current presiding officer in the Chair Mr Deputy Speaker who might have better shooting with a laser-assisted target selection thing but I am quite sure that the Deputy Speaker does not require that. [Bell rung] Indeed he is bringing me to a sharp stop in case I carry on. There should be no place for the casual recreational use of these instruments. I thought that New Zealand First’s Mr Prosser gave a wonderful dissertation on the physics of laser lights. One could almost call it illuminating.Hon Members: Oh!CHRIS AUCHINVOLE: Ha ha!The availability of the price the lack of responsibility powerful equipment and irresponsible hands and minds—all these things have to be taken into account. I would like to join with the others and express congratulations to Dr Cam Calder on his thoughtful considered concerned and serious piece of legislation. Thank you.