Media Release

8 October 1999

CRACKING DOWN ON PUBLIC SPITTING

Northland MP, Brian Donnelly, is calling for a crackdown on public spitting in order to reduce the horror health statistics of Northland.

“Certain groups of people in Northland have forgotten that spitting anywhere you like is a health hazard. We need to re-establish an anti-spitting climate.

“Northland Health should have spent some of its $3.3 million surplus this year spearheading such a campaign. Instead, health officials have sat back and watched TB and meningitis statistics explode.

“It is not only poverty, but also behaviour which is causing the appalling health record of Northland. This unhealthy behaviour can be controlled through education and the public simply not accepting it,” said Mr Donnelly.

“What we are facing is a poverty of understanding. We should be treating the causes before they lead to the problems. That capacity is available, it is just not being used”.

ENDS

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