At this time of
year, Diwali, Halloween, Christmas, New Year and Chinese/Lunar New Year are celebrated, so we are well into fireworks season. People have celebrated the 5th of November for over 400 years. Fireworks are used throughout the world as a form of celebration and enjoyment. Bonfire night in Glenfield, where I grew up, was a community event: we loved it as we loved Christmas. There is no higher meaning to these colourful explosions, no significance to the spectacle beyond fun and communal cries of “ooooo and ahhhhhh”. They are pure frippery and deliciously anarchic.
There are risks with fireworks. To put fireworks into perspective, road accidents are a much bigger everyday risk. In a single year, we have around 375 road fatalities, approximately one death per day. While there are a few hundred fireworks injuries a year, there have been no deaths. So, the odds of a fireworks injury are far smaller than the risk of death you take just by driving your car. We need to differentiate between “I don’t like this” and “this should be banned”. If you really want to ban anything you do not like, then perhaps you should live somewhere with a lot of rules and sit at home with the curtains closed. It is simply not possible to ban everything that is not 100% harmless and, in any event, it would be a very dull world. Not everyone likes fireworks. But you don’t have to buy them or use them. Just like the people who choose to buy a home near Eden Park, you have a choice and your irritation should not dictate everyone else’s behaviours. We need to live and let live.
My dog Walter and I are firmly in favour of dog rights, but we cannot call for bans on anything that might upset an animal. Loud construction works can frighten animals too. Are we to ban that? “My budgerigar is scared by the sound of my neighbour’s vacuum cleaner and I demand that they be banned”. I am concerned with pets’ welfare, but we can ensure they come to no harm without curtailing freedom and celebration. Keep your pets indoors, put some music on and they will get over it. No one is suggesting a ban on massive corporate and municipal fireworks displays so we cannot totally solve animal suffering. Pets are resilient but probably tend to mirror their owner’s neurosis.
Loud construction works can frighten animals too. Photo / Getty Images
While the Auckland Council figure that “89% supported a ban” is often cited, it is important to note that this came from a submissions process, not a randomly sampled survey. Submissions are prone to self-selection bias by attracting people who feel strongly about an issue. Such surveys over-represent motivated groups (see white middle class) and under-represent the indifferent or those mildly supportive of the status quo. The demographic profile of the Auckland Council survey was skewed: 90% identified as European/Pākehā in the submissions and came from wealthier suburbs. No doubt the result accurately reflects the views of those who chose to submit but it cannot be taken as a reliable measure of the attitudes of Aucklanders or New Zealanders as a whole.
While there are many delightful exceptions, seniors as a cohort are most likely to value tranquillity and protection from harm over new exploits and adventures. Fair enough – age brings physical vulnerability. And they are more likely to belong to New Zealand First, the party that wants to ban private use of fireworks. But public rituals cannot be tailored to those least likely to use fireworks and those who feel uneasy about them or we will soon forget how to celebrate at all.
We are in danger of clinging to safety above all else. The fixation with safetyism has pushed us into a kind of national dotage – anxious and tentative. On this basis, the tūpuna Māori would never have launched toward Aotearoa because non-slip decking had yet to be invented. Sir Edmund Hillary would have settled for climbing the staircase in his house properly padded, hydrated and supervised. A country clinging to safety inculcates chronic fearfulness in our kids.
In New Zealand, consumer fireworks can be used any time of the year, though sale is restricted to four days leading up to and including November 5, and they cannot be sold to anyone under the age of 18. Types of fireworks available have also been restricted. Skyrockets and other fireworks where the firework itself flies were banned in 1994. Firecrackers and my beloved bangers were banned in 1993. Many other countries have similar restrictions but seemingly only four countries (Singapore, Chile, Ireland and Australia) outright ban backyard fireworks. Noise, fire risk and pollution must be balanced but we already have robust restrictions.
The regulations are clearly aimed at managing safety through age limits on sales, product safety standards, a restricted sale period and limitations on the types of backyard fireworks available for sale. Enforcing a total prohibition outweighs the benefits of prohibition given the diversion of police and council resources from more serious public safety issues. Moreover, where fireworks have been banned, black market products are often more dangerous, less stable, lack safety instructions; not to mention the difficulty of monitoring the import of banned fireworks.
The limitations already in place reduce the worst impacts. Given the cultural identity around firecrackers and that the vast majority of users behave responsibly, a full prohibition is disproportionate. Responsible adults should be allowed to celebrate traditions in their own way, with appropriate regulation. Fireworks bring joy, support culture and business, and bans are ineffective. A balanced regulation might curtail the use of backyard fireworks to key dates, being November 5, the Diwali week or one particular day of Diwali, Halloween, Christmas, New Year and Lunar New Year.
Taking risks is part of being human. I wish I’d taken more risk in my life than I have. Safety is fine, but it is not the driver of a vibrant culture. Let’s chill out. It is a few nights a year and it is nice that “golden shower” can mean something wholesome occasionally.
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