Guy Nathan: Local Government Law Reform Bill — In Committee 
Guy Nathan: Local Government Law Reform Bill — In Committee 
[Volume:632;Page:3749] 
NATHAN GUY (National) 
: 
 My legs are full of blood from rising and sitting down while trying to take a call for the last hour and a half on what is an extremely important issue. All law-abiding responsible dog owners in this country are barking mad at this Government. This is another compliance cost being imposed by a Government that has lost touch with reality. It has lost the plot. All law-abiding dog owners will be forced to pay another compliance cost. We have heard the cost will be between $20 $50 $70 and $200. Let us call it $100 per dog. It is another compliance cost that is being rammed down the throats of good law-abiding dog owners in this country. 
We all know that about 200000 dogs in this country are not registered. Their owners will be let off scot-free if this legislation comes into effect on 1 July. There are 200000 dog owners in this country for whom this legislation will not make one iota of difference. They will be let off scot-free. Those people actually cause the harmful dog attacks in this country. Let us read some figures from the Treasury report. Eight percent of those dogs cause 50 percent of the attacks and there are 3500 dog attacks in this country per annum. This legislation will not stop dog attacks but people who are law-abiding citizens will front up as they do at councils pay their registration fee and then have to get their dogs microchipped. 
Let us talk about the reliability of the jolly microchip. I know of an instance of a man who was a representative of New Zealand in the dog trial team that travelled off to Ireland last year. All the dogs had to be microchipped before they got on the plane. Months and months of training took place before the team went to Ireland to represent our country. They were getting ready to go through customs and the dogs were being scanned. Unfortunately a microchip could not be read so the man’s dog was sent down to be X-rayed in order to prove it was microchipped. The microchip could be seen under the coat of the dog but unfortunately that dog could not travel. So let us talk about the reliability of microchipping because that has not been raised in the debate this evening. What about trying to read the microchips in dogs with long coats in the wet weather? There is a certain amount of unreliability in that case. 
What about the costs that will actually be passed down to local government? What about those costs? It seems to be that legislation is passed in this Parliament willy-nilly and it is left to local ratepayers to pick up the bill. This legislation is estimated to cost between $3 million and $7 million and we all know that it will not actually reduce the number of dog attacks in this country. 
So here we have Government members supporting microchipping with the support of the two “poodle parties” United Future and New Zealand First. The members of those parties speak tough here in the Chamber but everyone knows that their knees go all wobbly when they are out there talking to people. When they talk on the hustings at the next election all the voters will remember this—the two “poodle parties” that supported a Government that is out of touch and has lost touch with reality. 
Let us not forget Mr Anderton. He was talking tough with Federated Farmers. He was going to do a deal and allow farm dogs to be exempt from microchipping. He has had his second big test with the rural community and they are giving him the thumbs down now. 
Hon David Carter 
: He has failed. 
NATHAN GUY 
: He has failed all right. He did not support the Green Party bill that we supported. Jim Anderton could have forced a change. The rural community has lost heart in Jim Anderton. When he heads around the country and talks to Federated Farmers they all sit in the back row whispering away: “Let’s get rid of him; let’s get rid of him.” 
This legislation will do nothing to reduce dog attacks in this country. This evening I am supporting David Carter and Eric Roy who are putting in vital changes to the legislation and I also need to applaud Kate Wilkinson.