Stewart Barbara: General DebateText is subject to correctionStewart Barbara: General Debate[Sitting date: 13 November 2013. Volume:694;Page:28. Text is subject to correction.]BARBARA STEWART (NZ First): First I must recognise Georgina Beyer. It is always a pleasure to see former MPs return to the House. We in this House need to keepup with the times that we actually live in and be aware of what is actually happening. People expect us to be aware of what is happening around the country and to take some action. The area of body art—tattooing for some of us—is very popular today. The Government has basically got a role to play in ensuring that everyone who has a tattoo is safe. If it does not it is very costly to the health system. Other countries are actually moving on this front and it is time that New Zealand followed their example.We have got a total lack of regulation in this area. Many of the licensed operators want action and they are contacting me to ensure that some action is actually forthcoming. What have we got now? Importation of tattoo equipment including ink with high levels of lead. Who cares? No one cares. We have got the onselling of tattoo equipment to anyone and everyone. Who cares? Again no one cares. Of course to add to this we have got unlicensed members of the public actually practising their art on unsuspecting members of the public.We have to stop these products from coming in at the border. We do not know who is importing these tattoo kits how many are coming in or who is actually buying these tattoo kits. The only way to prevent these unlicensed tattooists—often called “scratchers” around the industry—is to limit their ability to get a tattoo kit. The only agency that can make this happen is the Government and it is time that action was carried out.I have got an email here from a tattooist and he believes—and I totally agree with him—that there should be some laws about this. He said: “Resellers of skin penetration equipment and pigments should be licensed in some way as responsible resellers so they themselves are accountable. Resellers should not be allowed to onsell their equipment to unlicensed practitioners. The purchasers’ information should be required on invoice statements as well as their skin penetration licence. We do this for doctors and we do this for dentists so it is timely that we did this for tattooists. We do not want to see licensed studios that import their own equipment hindered by this law. They need to carry on as they previously were.”Does anybody in this House believe that the buyers of the kits that are advertised on TradeMe and other internet sites with a reserve price of $1 for one kit with two guns are actually going to be licensed? No definitely not. We do not know who is going to actually buy that equipment. What has happened? The internet has become a way to bootleg off these substandard products and inks to unsuspecting buyers. So what have we got? We have got unknown quantities of gear coming in and gear of an unknown quality coming in and a vast amount of ink. Ironically you cannot buy inks off TradeMe but if you buy a tattoo kit the seller will ask you “Do you want ink with that?”. And of course it is far easier to get the ink. I know of people who are going to the $2 Shop to actually buy the ink. How safe is that ink? It is not.What we have got here—allowing unlicensed people to tattoo—is actually dangerous to the population at large and of course to the industry those people who are legal who are licensed and who follow and carry out all of the requirements. I know for a fact that many licensed tattooists spend their time fixing up the botched jobs that the unlicensed tattooists have carried out. Usually the initial cost is pretty similar but the quality is shocking.What sorts of health risks have we got here? We are looking at infections we are looking at scarring we are looking at nerve damage and we are looking at hepatitis C and even HIV/AIDS. Urgent action is required by the Government.