Is it true that fireworks are illegal in Australia?

[AJS-]

For sale to the public. Google seems to come up with conflicting answers.

[Los Palmas 7]

Jeremy Vine said it last week, so it must be true.

[hairykrishna]

Depends where you are in Australia (state).

[Puggit]

According to Mrs Puggit they are only legal for the public to buy in the capital state (the small area where Canberra is).

[thinfourth2]

I think Oz is even more control freak nanny state then the UK

[J-c]

Just been told it depends on what state ie most big cities do not like every tom dick and harry setting them off.

[JMGS4]

Seems sensible in a country that has so many bushfires!

[johnfm]

thinfourth2 said:

I think Oz is even more control freak nanny state then the UK

No it isn't a more nanny state.

Australia just never had an historical need for drunken idiots and kids to fk about with fireworks every November.

It is a pretty commonsense approach really. You want a fireworks display? Get some people in who know what they are doing.

If you want an admittedly small percentage of children to blow a coupleof fingers off - sell fireworks to anybody.

To be honest, I expect the only people in Australia who care about this are the hordes of Brits who have moved there.

[sday12]

thinfourth2 said:

I think Oz is even more control freak nanny state then the UK

they love rules them Aussies

[Beefmeister]

johnfm said:

thinfourth2 said:

I think Oz is even more control freak nanny state then the UK

No it isn't a more nanny state.

Australia just never had an historical need for drunken idiots and kids to fk about with fireworks every November.

It is a pretty commonsense approach really. You want a fireworks display? Get some people in who know what they are doing.

If you want an admittedly small percentage of children to blow a coupleof fingers off - sell fireworks to anybody.

To be honest, I expect the only people in Australia who care about this are the hordes of Brits who have moved there.

+1

[hairyben]

Fireworks and porn is illegal everywhere except canberra.

Walking home past the good mixer (local drinking establishment for the mentally impaired) with my GF the other night some drunken tards were setting them off in the street, which worried me, guess it was cos I was with the other half. to paraphrase the quote, "Fireworks don't scare me, Fools with fireworks do"

[swamp]

johnfm said:

thinfourth2 said:

I think Oz is even more control freak nanny state then the UK

No it isn't a more nanny state.

Australia just never had an historical need for drunken idiots and kids to fk about with fireworks every November.

When I was there and heard about the fireworks laws on the news I got the impression that Australia did have a problem with drunken idots and kids playing with fireworks. Hence the laws against them.

[anonymous-user]

johnfm said:

To be honest, I expect the only people in Australia who care about this are the hordes of Brits who have moved there.

. . . and the Chinese, they love fireworks. Don't forget the Dwali lot either.

[OnTheOverrun]

johnfm said:

thinfourth2 said:

I think Oz is even more control freak nanny state then the UK

No it isn't a more nanny state.

Australia just never had an historical need for drunken idiots and kids to fk about with fireworks every November.

It is a pretty commonsense approach really. You want a fireworks display? Get some people in who know what they are doing.

If you want an admittedly small percentage of children to blow a coupleof fingers off - sell fireworks to anybody.

To be honest, I expect the only people in Australia who care about this are the hordes of Brits who have moved there.

Isn't it funny how when the govt ban you from doing something you don't like it's just a common sense approach and anyone who likes doing it is somehow less intelligent and need protecting from themselves, but when they ban you from doing something you like, it's a freedom issue and you don't need the state to nanny you. . . . . . . .

[smack]

As said, banned in all states, ACT being a territory, and I think you could get them from South Australia years ago. But there is a black market where people do runs to the ACT will bring it back for you. When I lived there we did it a few times for parties, but set them off on rural properties. Usually all the neighbours came over and watched as we told them beforehand.

No one complained, and the cops turned a blind eye.

[thinfourth2]

johnfm said:

thinfourth2 said:

I think Oz is even more control freak nanny state then the UK

No it isn't a more nanny state.

Australia just never had an historical need for drunken idiots and kids to fk about with fireworks every November.

It is a pretty commonsense approach really. You want a fireworks display? Get some people in who know what they are doing.

If you want an admittedly small percentage of children to blow a coupleof fingers off - sell fireworks to anybody.

To be honest, I expect the only people in Australia who care about this are the hordes of Brits who have moved there.

I would say a more common sense approach would be to sell fireworks

If you end up with no fingers thats your problem

If you throw them at folk then it should be perfectly legal for the thrower to have fireworks shoved up their arse and then light the blue touch paper

Don't ban fireworks/air rifles/go karts/ crossbows/chainsaws/cheap alcohol/dogs/knifes/pointy sticks because morons use fireworks/air rifles/go karts/ crossbows/chainsaws/cheap alcohol/dogs/knifes/pointy sticks to cause hassle for people who can be trusted to use fireworks/air rifles/go karts/ crossbows/chainsaws/cheap alcohol/dogs/knifes/pointy sticks perfectly safely just ban fking morons

[Los Palmas 7]

thinfourth2 said:

just ban fking morons

Oh, if only it were that easy.

[thinfourth2]

Los Palmas 7 said:

thinfourth2 said:

just ban fking morons

Oh, if only it were that easy.

the problem is

fking moron said:

Its my uman right

[siscar]

johnfm said:

No it isn't a more nanny state.

Australia just never had an historical need for drunken idiots and kids to fk about with fireworks every November.

Actually they did - Australia used to celebrate November 5th in just the same way as in the UK, in fact it was because of those celebrations that fireworks were banned in the 1970s. The problem was that November is summer and the fireworks triggered bush fires so they banned them.

[308mate]

johnfm said:

thinfourth2 said:

I think Oz is even more control freak nanny state then the UK

No it isn't a more nanny state.

Australia just never had an historical need for drunken idiots and kids to fk about with fireworks every November.

It is a pretty commonsense approach really. You want a fireworks display? Get some people in who know what they are doing.

If you want an admittedly small percentage of children to blow a coupleof fingers off - sell fireworks to anybody.

To be honest, I expect the only people in Australia who care about this are the hordes of Brits who have moved there.

Not quite.

Australia is twice the nanny state that the UK is in my experience.

Firstly, flame/spark/fire/explosions of any sort that are left unchecked are a massive liability in a country as dry as Australia because of the risk of fire. Same reason we have gas bbqs - blanket ban on naked flames outside.

Second, there is no longer a tradition of the general public annually setting off fireworks and having bonfires. In fact, there are LOADS of things that happen here in the UK thanks to tradition. Many that originate from before countries like Australia were even colonised.

What they do do is have Australia Day celebrations every year that involves a massive fireworks display in each State capital. The awe inspired by these big budget displays, choreographed to a soundtrack broadcast by radio station and the fact theyre illegal has created a mystique about fireworks in Australia that means that even at the age of 31, I still get a kick out of lighting rockets in the backyard each November.

In fact, its these displays that attract the largest annual concentrations of drunken morons in the city centres, as the whole country has a day off, heads for the city centre and gets st-faced. Which gives them another thing to make a law about.

The reality is, right-thinking adults should be allowed to buy and use fireworks if they want to. And idiots in Oz still find a myriad of ways of blowing fingers off by making petrol and chlorine bombs and potato guns etc etc.

Like the man said above, they love a good law in Oz.

Edited by 308mate on Sunday 8th November 15:56