The commercial witchypooness of Halloween, with its tonnes of apparently scary plastic objects bound for a landfill near you, is over again. And now we are about to start exploding miniature bombs to commemorate an event that happened on the other side of the world 420 years ago.
An alien looking down on Earth and trying to understand its people might well scratch its head, if it has one.
Before we light the blue touchpaper on this smouldering issue, it’s important to recognise that most of us are abject hypocrites when it comes to fireworks. We loved them as children, still retain happy memories of the names of each, of the lingering smell of gunpowder, of the colours and the bangs they produced, and believe fervently we were highly responsible when it came to their deployment.
But, at some point quite suddenly, as we aged, started a family, bought a house and became perhaps more "sensible", the annoyance and the potential dangers of fireworks began overshadowing any fun factor. It’s a different metamorphosis from realising Santa isn’t real but wishing he was.
Fireworks in New Zealand now are not just associated with the geographical and historical anachronisms of the United Kingdom’s Guy Fawkes’ Night transferred to the southern hemisphere and our often dry and windy late spring. They are also kept for celebrations such as Diwali and New Year’s Eve.
We all know that fireworks in the wrong hands are not a good idea at all.
For a start, firework detonations nearby are terrifying for animals. Farm animals get spooked and die; pets flee or quiver in corners; wildlife abandon usual nests and habitats, with huge flocks of birds suddenly taking flight and marine mammals heading out to sea.
They are also extremely dangerous when mishandled. There are plenty of clips on social media platforms showing what can happen when idiots leave fireworks lying around their cars and homes. Unfortunately, their use is also tied in with excess alcohol consumption and the fake overconfidence that can generate.
ACC injury prevention leader James Whitaker said burns to the hands and wrists were the most common injury, followed by burnt fingers and thumbs, and eye injuries. Men were almost twice as likely to be injured as women, and the 15 to 19-year-old age group featured the most heavily.
Then there is the risk to the environment and the subsequent danger to homeowners and residents from forest and scrub fires. Last year, Fire and Emergency NZ crews had to deal with 166 callouts, the most since 2019. In the five-year period before that, there were 676 fires caused by fireworks, 513 of which were vegetation fires.
We are also hearing more about the pollution which fireworks cause.
According to a New York Times article, firework smoke contains chemicals such as sulphur dioxide and increases levels of air pollution. Fireworks also leave toxins in soil and waterways, and produce microplastics which can be eaten by animals.
There are so many reasons why we should just ban the private sale of fireworks.
Early every November we go into the same conniptions about them, talk about how bad they are and make moves to outlaw their private sale.
They might only be able to be sold on a few days each year, but there is no limit on the days they can be lit, as the New Zealand Veterinary Association points out.
While momentum for a ban seems to exist, relatively regular attempts to persuade Parliament on the issue have fizzled.
In June, a petition signed by more than 90,000 people was received by National MP Greg Fleming, who said there was "no appetite whatsoever" from the government to stop their sale.
New Zealand has banned the biggest explosions humankind can produce. So why do we angst so much when it comes to doing something about fireworks?
