Jo Raphael: One night of fireworks is not worth the hassle

The annual Lakeside concert went out with a spectacular bang.

OPINION

Guy Fawkes slipped by this year relatively unnoticed – for me anyway.

Apart from the explosions, of course, that set off what seemed to be right outside my bedroom window.

I am now braced for weeks, if not months, of noisy celebrations from the hoarders who like to take advantage of the few days the darned things are for sale and stock up.

I have experienced a tectonic shift in my views towards the public sale of fireworks since my youth.

For me, Guy Fawkes once punctuated this time of the year - heralding the coming of summer, the looming end of the school year. The sign of fun things to come.

But this has slowly devolved from excitement to apathy, and now disdain.

Once I would have delighted in setting off these money burners – under the close supervision of parents, of course.

That turned into half-heartedly waving sparklers about as a teenager.

Now it involves trying to explain to the cats, looking up at me with wide eyes, just what all the commotion is about.

Not to mention the four-legged canine lord and master of the household who tries to put on a brave face but comes noticeably closer for cuddles during the thick of it.

Do all people who get older experience these feelings? Am I turning into the fun police?

I hope not.

I still love a great public display – like the ones we get at the speedway or during the Lakeside concert.

I think this is where we should concentrate our efforts and do away with the legal sale of fireworks.

As a colleague mooted the other day – if they're only legal for sale four days of the year, should they be legal at all?

In my view, no they shouldn't.

Taxpayers have forked out almost $2 million over the past decade on fireworks-related injuries, according to ACC.

The majority of those (61 per cent) were for burns.

Not to mention the number of fires caused, keeping emergency services busy.

On Guy Fawkes night in 2019 – pre-Covid – firefighters had to battle more than 50 fires including a large scrub fire on Mt Wellington in Auckland.

Emergency services also had to contend with idiots shooting fireworks from moving cars aimed at buildings or vegetation.

Is this one night worth the hassle and headaches?

Let's ban the sale, free up taxpayers' dough for other things and allow our emergency services to concentrate on the people who need them the most.