Leader of the Opposition, Lia Finocchiaro, says the rescheduling of cracker night has been
terribly mishandled by the Chief Minister right from the start.
“Michael Gunner made a captain’s call to move cracker night to August 29 – during the Top
End’s peak fire season – with no consultation, or real logic.
“Territorians can accept July 1 crackers were cancelled due to lockdown, but the Chief
Minister’s decision not to simply move cracker night to the week after lockdown was lifted,
has people in rural areas – and firies – on edge.
“Despite the fact that August 29 last year was an ‘extreme’ fire day and was subject to a TOTAL
fire ban, Michael Gunner ignored the experts and forged ahead with his own decision.
“The reality is, this Darwin-centric Chief Minister doesn’t have any regard for Territorians
beyond the Berrimah Line.
“He has no regard for the potential loss of property or loss of life given the ‘High’ to ‘Very
High’ fire danger warnings currently in place across most of the Top End this weekend.
“Michael Gunner doesn’t understand the rural area. Michael Gunner doesn’t understand the
regions. Michael Gunner doesn’t understand the bush.
“To add further insult to people living beyond the Berrimah Line, Michael Gunner has
cancelled their opportunity to safely let off personal fireworks at community reserves. The
only options left for those residents are to let off crackers on their dry bush blocks – or miss
out altogether.
“The Chief Minister is taking a punitive approach to people in rural, regional and remote areas
who just want the same opportunity as Territorians above the Berrimah Line – to let off
fireworks in a safe, regulated and controlled environment,” said Mrs Finocchiaro
Events Coordinator for the Berry Springs Reserve Committee, Melanie McMurdie, says for
many years the committee and its team of hardworking volunteers has organised an annual
event at the Berry Springs Reserve Oval on July 1, in collaboration with NT Major Events, NT
Government and Litchfield Council.
“This event has always included the opportunity to let off personal fireworks before and
after the main, professional display. Everything was in place for the revised date of 29th of
August and all our advertising reflected that personal fireworks could be let off.
“It wasn’t until one of our eagle-eyed volunteers came across a notice on the NT
Government website that said “personal fireworks are not permitted at Territory Day
Community Events”, that we were alerted to a change of policy. We then sought
confirmation from NT Major Events, which provided the same response.
“There was no consultation on this change and we were given no notice. In fact, we
wouldn’t have known about it if we hadn’t spotted it ourselves.
“We have firefighters, St John Ambulance and security personnel present at our community
event which means if injuries or fires do occur, we have the resources to deal with those
issues immediately.
“We’re not interested in the endless debate on whether cracker night should or shouldn’t
be held, or whether it should be held during the Wet or Dry, we are focused on making sure
letting off crackers in our area is done in the safest way possible,” said Mrs McMurdie.
ENDS