Private sale of fireworks won't be banned after proposal rejected by MPs

Wednesday, 19 August 2020

2020 got off to a flying start with a fireworks display from the Sky Tower.

There will be no ban on the private sale and use of fireworks after a parliamentary select committee decided to leave regulations as they are.

The governance and administration select committee said the decision required “competing interests to be balanced” and instead chose to make no recommendation.

Animal welfare group SAFE said the parliamentarians had “failed to protect animals”, and the Tūpuna Maunga Authority warned it was “a missed opportunity to show leadership” for the protection of precious taonga.

The 2019 Matariki Sky Show display in Wellington.

Campaigns manager Marianne Macdonald noted the committee itself stated in its decision: “We appreciate the harm that fireworks can cause, and the disruption to animal owners from fireworks being let off throughout the year.”

**READ MORE:

SAFE Campaigns manager Marianne Macdonald.

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The select committee decision said a ban on retail sales of fireworks would affect “several small and medium-sized enterprises”.

“New Zealand has about seven active importers of fireworks,” it said.

Auckland Councillors Cathy Casey and Efeso Collins led the city’s submission on banning private firework sale and use.

“We were told that a ban would mean these businesses would need to close. In 2018, New Zealand imported 653,303kg of fireworks.”

The select committee had considered the issue after receiving a petition from Catherine Bindon, with 28,000 signatures, to ban the public sale of fireworks.

Bindon said the committee MPs had not rejected the submissions outright.

“I would hope that The House not be put off by the SC’s ultimate status quo decision and do genuinely debate this,” she said.

The SPCA has been pushing for a ban on the private sale of fireworks for many decades.

Auckland councillor Cathy Casey, who along with fellow councillor Efeso Collins presented the council’s call for a ban to the select committee, said the decision was “deeply disappointing”.

Casey said the select committee had shown it was “not prepared to lift a finger” to reduce harm from fireworks.

“Choosing not to act puts humans and animals at risk of injury or death and that is too high a price to pay for a few cheap thrills,” she said.

“The strain put on emergency services for weeks on end is simply unacceptable.”

Collins said it was wrong for fireworks to be sold to the public around Guy Fawkes Day.

“Fireworks displays should be public and celebrate what New Zealand finds important,” he said.

The committee said some submissions argued that fireworks were important to other cultural dates on the calendar.

“Diwali and Chinese New Year were two frequently named events. Diwali, the Indian festival of lights, uses fireworks to symbolise the lights.

“In Chinese New Year celebrations, the fireworks and “bangs” are used to ward off evil spirits, and bring good luck for the coming year, said the committee in its decision.”

The eight-member select committee, made up evenly of National and Labour MPs and chaired by retiring National MP Jian Yang, recommended any future reform by Parliament look at ideas like regulations seen in some Australian states, with tighter sales restrictions around a range of events.

“We appreciate that in New Zealand there are several events that groups would like to celebrate with fireworks. We believe that any future reform of fireworks regulations should accommodate this.”

Paul Majurey of the Tūpuna Maunga Authority said commercial interests of fireworks importers and retailers had prevailed over evidence-based concerns with fireworks-related damage to property and important landscapes.

“[We] will be seeking to meet with the Prime Minister to urge the Government to take leadership on the protection of the iconic ancestral landscapes of Tāmaki Makaurau from fireworks.”

Local government opposition to continued private sales and use of fireworks was fronted by its umbrella organisation Local Government New Zealand, along with Auckland Council, which found 89 per cent support for the ban in a survey it conducted.

“The amount of injury and damage just isn’t worth the cost, and that was clearly communicated to the committee by a wide range of submitters, including LGNZ,” chief executive Malcolm Alexander said.

“It’s disappointing this feedback hasn’t been taken on board, and that we’re going to see more avoidable harm for the foreseeable future.”