Council survey finds most respondents want fireworks restricted to public displays

Most people who took part in the survey want restrictions on the use of fireworks. Photo / Bevan Conley

A strong majority of those who took part in a Whanganui District Council survey want fireworks taken out of the hands of the public and restricted to public displays.

More than 1100 responses were received as part of the online survey which ran last month.

It was released to the public following a council meeting where councillors debated Auckland Council's call to ban fireworks as part of Local Government New Zealand's remit process.

In the survey residents were asked if there should be no public or private use of fireworks, if fireworks should be restricted to public displays, if the current regulations are about right, if the current regulations are too strict, or if there should be no restrictions at all.

The majority of support was for restricting fireworks to public displays which received 71 per cent of votes, while 17 per cent of participants said current regulations are about right.

Five per cent responded that there should be no public or private use of fireworks, two per cent said current regulations are too strict and two per cent said there should be no restrictions on the use of fireworks at all.

"The results of the online survey reflect the recent annual Community Views Survey which included a question asking respondents whether they agree with the restrictions of fireworks in Whanganui," council's policy and governance manager Stephanie Macdonald-Rose said.

"In the Community Views Survey 68 per cent of residents surveyed agreed there should be restrictions, while 20 per cent disagreed and 11 per cent were unsure."

Council chief executive Kym Fell said it was great to have a snapshot of the community's view on the restrictions of fireworks, but that it was up to central government to control the use of fireworks.