KEY POINTS:
Getting rid of spray paint will not stop graffiti taggers from making their mark, a select government committee was told yesterday.
Meeting at Manukau City Council, public submissions were given to MPs regarding the Tagging and Graffiti Vandalism Amendment Bill, which is looking to include tougher penalties for taggers and banning the sale of spray paint to under-18s.
But limiting the sales of spray paint would not put a stop to the graffiti problem, with taggers using other tools to tag, MPs were told.
Aerosol Association of New Zealand executive Dr Philip Fleming said putting a sole focus on spray cans and banning them would not stop hardcore taggers.
"There are other means which are used for graffiti, like knives used for glass etching and markers, which are easier to hide in a pocket when the cops turn up.
"The bill displaces other destructive means," he said.
Under the bill, retailers will also have to lock up cans of spray paint and can face a fine of up to $1500 if found selling them to anyone under 18.
But Dr Fleming says such action is "saying retailers are stupid" and other ways such as placing the cans higher on shelves to prevent stealing would be more effective.
"We acknowledge the frustration with tags among the community, but locking up spray cans may only cause more harm, rather than improving the graffiti problem," he said.
"Looking internationally, putting up lock-ups or other enforcement has not made any difference. In some places like New York, the graffiti has gone up."
In January, 15-year-old Pihema Cameron was stabbed to death in South Auckland, after he was caught tagging a fence in Manurewa.
A businessman was later charged with his murder and the youngster's stabbing has caused for ongoing debate about tagger-penalties.
Yesterday's committee also heard from Manukau City mayor Len Brown, who showed a series of video clips showing graffiti around Manukau and told of 12 hardcore taggers being greatly responsible for Manukau's graffiti problem.
Dr Fleming said blaming spray paint for the graffiti problem was one-sided and unfair to the many people who use aerosol spray cans for good use.
"People use them to mark out sports fields, police use them for marking accidents and even the DIY dad may use one to touch up the letterbox once in a while.
"There are over 2.5 million cans and the number of those being used for graffiti is peanuts. They [taggers] are a minority and punishing the two million people using them properly is unfair," Dr Fleming said.
Other submissions included tougher punishments for taggers caught in the act.
Committee members acknowledged that many of the young people tagging were under-age and would therefore not be able to be punished as adults committing a crime.
