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Taggers will have to clean up after themselves under a new law which aims to come down hard on city taggers _ and the Manukau City Council is backing it wholeheartedly.
Manukau Mayor Len Brown will today present the city's submission on the Tagging and Graffiti Vandalism Amendment Bill to a select committee from Parliament.
Graffiti is a major problem in Manukau, costing up to $1.2 million to clean up last year, and Mr Brown says he welcomes the anti-tagging legislation.
"We are very pleased the Government is helping us eradicate graffiti and strongly support the legislation.
"I think it's good, getting kids to do community work and having to paint over their own tags."
Under the bill a tagger can be fined up to $2000. Judges will also have the option of sentencing offenders to clean up tagging in their own community.
The selling of spray cans in shops will be limited and a fine of up to $1500 will be imposed on shopkeepers who sell them to anyone under 18.
Mr Brown says he'd rather see spray cans banned altogether, but welcomes anything which will reduce access to them. "We want a strong ban on spray cans, to eradicate the problem."
Last year Manukau City won three awards at the International Awards for Liveable Communities, including an award in the Environmentally Sustainable Project category.
Mr Brown acknowledges that such recognition shows the community's desire to better its city, with Manukau residents wanting a "clean and green community".
The Manukau City Council has already made moves to clean up the city, with projects such as the Manukau Beautification Charitable Trust wiping out up to 65 per cent of the city's graffiti.
Mr Brown says despite the good work there is still a lot to be done.
