Bushfires NT chief fire control officer calls for Cracker Night to be held in the wet season to reduce fire risk

Fireys want Cracker Night, which has been cancelled for the past two years because of Covid-19, moved to the wet season. Do you agree? VOTE IN OUR POLL.

FIREYS want Cracker Night, which has been cancelled for the past two years because of Covid-19, moved to the wet season.

The new date for Cracker Night 2021 is due to be announced soon and fireys have used the opportunity to call for a permanent change to the date.

Bushfires NT chief fire control officer Andrew Turner told ABC Darwin the day should be moved to the wet season to mitigate the risk of a fire.

“I think there’s a huge amount of risk that needs to be considered,” Mr Turner said.

“I personally think that there’s a perfect time for Territory Day and that would be when’s it’s raining.

“My vote is for much later in the year, rather than any closer to the date we’ve got now.”

However, fireworks suppliers have warned that crackers won’t work when it’s raining.

Other critics pointed out that it will likely be much drier in areas outside the Top End if the day is moved to later in the year.

Cracker Night is currently celebrated on Territory Day, which acknowledges the Territory gaining self governance, and is on July 1 each year.

Chief Minister Michael Gunner said the government was not ready to set a new date for 2021 celebrations yet.

“Right now, our priority is keeping Territorians safe and riding out this week of restrictions,” he said.

“All going well, we can look forward to blowing things up again very soon – and we will make an announcement around the date for Territory Day in the near future.”

Darwin Lord Mayor Kon Vatskalis said that he could see where the fireys were coming from but was more concerned about rubbish being left behind.

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“I can understand the fireys’ arguments but for council the biggest issue is the clean- up the day after,” he said.

“Most people are reasonable but you get the occasional idiot that leaves behind a big mess.”

Mr Vatskalis said the fireworks also created issues for pets, who often got scared by the fireworks and ran away.

Opposition spokeswoman for Tourism and Hospitality Marie-Clare Boothby said regardless of which day was chosen, the crackers should continue to play a part in the celebrations.

“Territorians have been celebrating Territory Day with firecrackers for more than 40 years and we will continue doing that,” she said.

“Given we missed out this year due to lockdown I look forward to celebrating a delayed Territory Day with fireworks.”

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