Trevglas

After all the recent bushfires here in Queensland, its nice to see both the rain, and also the State government threatening to come down hard on any idiot who deliberately starts a fire:


Arson (s.461 Criminal Code) Max Penalty = Life (14 years for a juvenile)
- Attempted Arson (s.462 Criminal Code) Max Penalty = 14 years (7 years for a juvenile)
- Setting fire to crops (s.463 Criminal Code) Max Penalty = 14 years (7 years for a juvenile)
- Attempting to set fire to crops (s.464 Criminal Code) Max Penalty = 7 years (3 1/2 years for a juvenile)
- Unauthorised Grass Fire (s.146 Fire & Rescue Service Act) Max Penalty = 5 years (or up to $37500 fine).

You can also be jailed for up to six months or fined $3750 for throwing a cigarette butt out a car window. The penalties increase to up to a year in prison or an $18,750 slug if a state-wide fire emergency is declared.

wombat42

Don't immigrate to OZ if your a pyromaniac , otherwise it looks like your going to be doing a lot of time inside.

Jacqui

And as a further warning, in areas where fires are allowed at certain times of the year, eg at campsites, picnic areas, you must be really, really sure it's out before you leave it. It's so easy for a fire to restart, as I found out for myself last week.

We've been burning off a lot of leaves and dead wood in our garden, trying to get it all cleared before the deadline of 1st November when bonfires are not permitted. We had a bonfire last Sunday which burnt down by the evening and left a pile of very hot ashes. It was still hot the following day. It rained during the week. By Friday it looked like it was finally "out". Anyway I did some weeding and threw a large heap of weeds onto the ash pile, knowing that another bonfire was planned for the weekend. On Saturday morning we woke up to find the bonfire was burning away! It restarted almost a week later

I still cannot believe how many idiots in the middle of summer throw their cigarette butts out the car window.

You'll notice when you arrive in Oz how there are "fire risk" signs posted on the roads, warning you whether the fire risk for today is medium, high or severe.

podgypossum

Of course...Australian car makers not putting ashtrays in the cars they make doesnt really help matters either!!!... not that i would EVER throw butts out of a window (i have a coke can placed in drinks holder) In a country so plagued by fire, you'd think for safetys sake (because there will always be idiots who wouldnt have enough ingenuity to think of the coke can) that car makers would make it easier to dispose of them.

There is another far better option (for me and everyone else)... ban smoking!!