It is twenty-five years since the people of New South Wales were last permitted to use fireworks for celebrations around a bonfire. The only fireworks that can be legally displayed are those licensed by a fireworks contractor for events such as the new year's eve display on Sydney Harbour, but this ban is widely ignored because fireworks are legally sold and available to people from other states from warehouses in the Australian Capital Territory.
A private members bill will be introduced into the New South Wales parliament by Baulkham Hills MP David Elliott to reverse that ban. Mr Elliott claims to be receiving massive support from residents of his electorate but this issue will certainly be controversial. The original ban was justified on safety grounds and this will be a compelling argument voiced by opponents.
Fireworks were a traditional way of celebrating national events from the early days of the first arrivals. They were usually communal events that involved a bonfire and in particular - " Cracker Night " was specifically held to celebrate a day set aside as a holiday in celebration of our monarch's birthday.
Today, finding a site for a public bonfire would present many problems. There is little available public land in our densely packed suburbs and lighting a fire would breach a multitude of laws covering everything from fire safety to pollution regulations. Along with fireworks, the humble backyard incinerator was also banned and we now have strict environmental laws that require approval from a dense thicket of regulatory agencies. The paperwork to make a bonfire legal - would be daunting !
The biggest challenge would be on safety grounds. When fireworks were legal they did produce a steady casualty stream. Hand held crackers had a habit of doing damage and getting struck by a wayward rocket could be painful. It seems certain that a reintroduction of cracker night would not be welcomed by the medical profession.
Older Australians will remember fireworks with nostalgia, but pet owners will shudder in horror at the prospect of terrified cats and dogs going missing, running in panic from the sound of exploding fireworks - and that is something that still happens when licensed public displays are held.
No doubt this private members bill will be fiercely debated and it's fate is uncertain, but some people will ponder the origins of the cracker nights of yore. Perhaps the most well remembered event for letting off fireworks was in celebration of " Guy Fawkes " day !
It seems that this Guy Fawkes was a rebel who managed to smuggle many barrels of gun powder into the cellars under the British parliament in London and was planning to blow the lot sky high in disgust at the laws the pollies were inflicting on the general public.
He was caught before he could detonate this gun powder - and suffered the most extreme punishment the crown could devise. He was hung, drawn and quartered and thus made his way into the history books as perhaps the most celebrated villain in the English speaking world.
Many people must wonder just which way Guy Fawkes day celebrations are aimed. Were we celebrating the triumph of law and order ? Or were we commiserating with Guy Fawkes - and celebrating his attempt to achieve the task of blowing a bunch of politicians sky high ?
Cracker night seems to involve mixed emotions !
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