KEY POINTS:
Auckland mayors have welcomed a proposed crackdown on tagging, but the National Party says government action has come too late.
Prime Minister Helen Clark today announced plans to ban spray can sales to under 18-year-olds, create a new offence for tagging that will carry a fine of up to $2000 and give judges to ability to force taggers to clean up their handiwork.
She also announced a three-year, $6 million funding boost to help community groups and local government tackle the problem.
Miss Clark said tagging was a destructive crime.
"Its presence in an area also contributes to fears that the place is not safe. That too is destructive of communities."
Auckland mayors welcomed the nation-wide initiative.
Manukau Mayor Len Brown said his council put over $1 million a year into cleaning up graffiti but other improvements had been limited because of a lack of powers under current legislation.
"This new initiative is a good first step towards dealing with a problem that our communities have had enough of.
"Our people have been saying for years that something tough needs to be done and the Government's new proposals will be very welcome in that regard."
Waitakere Mayor Bob Harvey also welcomed the new hardline stance.
The city's Tag Out Trust, set up in 1996, removed an average of 22,000 tags a month
Mr Harvey, a former Labour Party president, said the measures would allow local and central government to co-operate better in tackling the issue.
But National Party law and order spokesman Simon Power said Labour had talked about forcing taggers to clean up graffiti in 1999, but had done nothing for eight years.
It had only leapt into action when National had highlighted the issue of youth crime and it found itself behind in the polls.
"While honest citizens have been putting up with this scourge for years, Labour has done nothing - until election year."
Mr Power said taggers could already be fined up to $2000 if they were charged with wilful damage.
Miss Clark announced the package of measures today at Auckland's Clendon Skate Park.
She said the possible $2000 fine that would be available under a new Summary Offences Act offence of tagging was a big step up from the current $200 for "defacing" property.
Shopkeepers would also be required to keep spray cans secure so they could not be accessed without the help of staff. Those who failed to comply could face a fine of $1500.
Miss Clark said one of the aims of the campaign was to involve community groups in areas where tagging is a serious problem.
Of the $2 million a year funding package, $800,000 would go towards $20,000 grants to local community groups for anti-graffiti initiatives.
A further $1 million a year goes into a contestable fund for local government initiatives.
The other $200,000 a year will go towards restorative justice initiatives for tagging offenders and victims.
Police would also more actively target tagging hot spots, she said.
"Tagging is a destructive crime and represents an invasion of private and public property," Miss Clark said.
"Most taggers are in their teens and we intend to make it much harder for them to access their tools of vandalism."
The new penalties and controls will involve legislation, which the Government is expected to put on the fast track in Parliament.
Miss Clark said an advisory group would also be set up to help finalise a comprehensive "Stop Tagging Our Place" (STOP) strategy that Cabinet would consider by July.
Mr Hawkins already has a bill in Parliament, the Manukau City Council (Control of Graffiti) Bill, which passed its second reading last year.
It seeks special powers for Manukau City Council to deal with taggers, and its provisions could be included in wider legislation that the Government will bring in.
- NZPA
