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| Northern Territory: firework frenzy shows contradictions of local life | Northern Territory: firework frenzy shows contradictions of local life |
| (about 2 hours later) | |
| For five hours a year Northern Territorians are legally allowed to set off fireworks with abandon as part of Territory Day – an annual recognition of the self-governance granted in 1978, and a symbol of the jurisdiction’s fervent rejection of all things “nanny state”. But the occasion also represents the contradictions of life in the Territory. | |
| The Northern Territory is the last Australian jurisdiction where people can legally buy and set off fireworks, and it is a closely guarded privilege. Pity the one-term government that tries to move in line with the rest of the country. | |
| There are, however, some restrictions. The fireworks can only be bought on the day, and only ignited between 6pm and 11pm, and anything unused must be handed in by midday on 2 July. It’s a small window, but events are held all over the Territory to celebrate the anniversary of the commonwealth handing over the power of government. | There are, however, some restrictions. The fireworks can only be bought on the day, and only ignited between 6pm and 11pm, and anything unused must be handed in by midday on 2 July. It’s a small window, but events are held all over the Territory to celebrate the anniversary of the commonwealth handing over the power of government. |
| Lindsay Carmichael has owned and run the Daly Waters pub for 16 years and held Territory Day events on every one, including fireworks displays. | Lindsay Carmichael has owned and run the Daly Waters pub for 16 years and held Territory Day events on every one, including fireworks displays. |
| “One year we invited the police up from Elliot to let the fireworks off and they nearly killed half the people here, it was good fun,” he tells Guardian Australia drily. | “One year we invited the police up from Elliot to let the fireworks off and they nearly killed half the people here, it was good fun,” he tells Guardian Australia drily. |
| “They didn’t bugger it up, just had a bit of a problem with a couple of them falling over and shot into the crowd, but no one was hurt so it was all a good joke and a bit of a giggle.” | “They didn’t bugger it up, just had a bit of a problem with a couple of them falling over and shot into the crowd, but no one was hurt so it was all a good joke and a bit of a giggle.” |
| There is of course a nod to the reason for the celebration, and part of the Daly Waters event includes a reflection on why they are gathered, setting off fireworks and nearly killing people, in the first place. | There is of course a nod to the reason for the celebration, and part of the Daly Waters event includes a reflection on why they are gathered, setting off fireworks and nearly killing people, in the first place. |
| We have a five minute chat about why Territory Day is here and what it’s for | We have a five minute chat about why Territory Day is here and what it’s for |
| “We have a little presentation on the day, out in the beer garden, and have a five-minute chat about why Territory Day is here and what it’s for and how we ended up with a chief minister instead of an administrator and how it all progressed to what it is today,” said Carmichael. | |
| But it’s mainly about the fireworks. When asked what cracker night says about life in the Territory, Carmichael points towards personal freedom. | But it’s mainly about the fireworks. When asked what cracker night says about life in the Territory, Carmichael points towards personal freedom. |
| “You get a few ratbags around the place doing stupid things with them, but I still think it’s a good way to celebrate as long as people are careful and don’t go crazy about it and behave themselves with it. | |
| “We try and do it reasonably early at night because we don’t want to do it at midnight when they can’t talk,” Carmichael says, laughing. | “We try and do it reasonably early at night because we don’t want to do it at midnight when they can’t talk,” Carmichael says, laughing. |
| The easy recklessness is not unique to the outback pub. Territory Day is one of the emergency services’ least favourite days. | The easy recklessness is not unique to the outback pub. Territory Day is one of the emergency services’ least favourite days. |
| The NT government issues a warning which includes the apparently necessary advice not to aim fireworks at people. Fires break out, hospital admissions skyrocket and pets are traumatised. | |
| At the official Darwin event an estimated 25,000 people gather on the sand at Mindil beach for music and a much-hyped pyrotechnics display, accompanied by a seemingly endless supply from people having their own celebrations down the long visible coastline to the north and south. | |
| The city and suburbs prove a hectic experience for the uninitiated. Every open space, including in the CBD, sees rockets and flares shriek through the dark without warning and silhouettes run from recently lit fizzing cylinders. It’s a rainbow warzone, a postapocalyptic festival of poorly anchored missiles shooting in random directions. Teenage boys flirt with girls the best way they can imagine – by throwing bungers at them. | |
| For these five hours adults can light their explosives with abandon, in public or at home, drunk or sober | For these five hours adults can light their explosives with abandon, in public or at home, drunk or sober |
| For these five hours a year adults can light their explosives with abandon, in public or at home, drunk or sober, and the idea of joining the rest of Australia in outlawing it is completely abhorrent. | For these five hours a year adults can light their explosives with abandon, in public or at home, drunk or sober, and the idea of joining the rest of Australia in outlawing it is completely abhorrent. |
| It is excess, destruction, beauty and recklessness, but slightly and strangely regulated, much like the Territory itself. | |
| Territory Day celebrates what is “unique” about the place, says chief minister Adam Giles. | Territory Day celebrates what is “unique” about the place, says chief minister Adam Giles. |
| “I think there are a range of different things that occur in the Northern Territory that separate us from other jurisdictions in the country,” he said on Wednesday. | “I think there are a range of different things that occur in the Northern Territory that separate us from other jurisdictions in the country,” he said on Wednesday. |
| “We are unique and like to stand different, sometimes because we want to be different, and other times because we are. Territory Day is one of those important occasions when we have an opportunity to do that. So whether it’s about fireworks or open speed limits or any other thing that’s unique to the Northern Territory, we will continue to keep our uniqueness as long as it’s in the best interest of Territorians.” | “We are unique and like to stand different, sometimes because we want to be different, and other times because we are. Territory Day is one of those important occasions when we have an opportunity to do that. So whether it’s about fireworks or open speed limits or any other thing that’s unique to the Northern Territory, we will continue to keep our uniqueness as long as it’s in the best interest of Territorians.” |
| Tess Lea, a born and bred Territorian and author of the Darwin edition in New South Book’s Cities series, says the day – and the NT – is full of contradiction. | Tess Lea, a born and bred Territorian and author of the Darwin edition in New South Book’s Cities series, says the day – and the NT – is full of contradiction. |
| Lea says the Northern Territory’s struggle for political representation stretches back beyond 1978 to the start of the 20th century and a “ragtag bunch of mostly blokes” who fought hard – but that’s not what Territory Day is about today, she says. | Lea says the Northern Territory’s struggle for political representation stretches back beyond 1978 to the start of the 20th century and a “ragtag bunch of mostly blokes” who fought hard – but that’s not what Territory Day is about today, she says. |
| “It’s not about how to work or speak to power. It’s: do we allow firecrackers, what’s the public health hazard, how many fingers are blown up, are dogs going awol?” | “It’s not about how to work or speak to power. It’s: do we allow firecrackers, what’s the public health hazard, how many fingers are blown up, are dogs going awol?” |
| The NT proudly presents itself as the anti-nanny state, but while many enjoy the freedoms of cracker night, no alcohol limits while boating and the (historical but possibly returning) open road speed limits, authority falls heavy on other sections of society. | |
| Perhaps demonstrating this Territorian contradiction, Giles’s Wednesday press conference covered two topics – the glory of Territory Day and fireworks, and proposed measures to reduce Aboriginal deaths in custody, of which there have been two in recent weeks. | Perhaps demonstrating this Territorian contradiction, Giles’s Wednesday press conference covered two topics – the glory of Territory Day and fireworks, and proposed measures to reduce Aboriginal deaths in custody, of which there have been two in recent weeks. |
| Extreme police powers and punitive laws disproportionately target Aboriginal people who make up a third of the population and an overwhelming number of the homeless, and juvenile detainees who, after a series of escapes and other incidents, are now subject to adult-level justice measures and as of this year are detained in a former adult high security prison. | Extreme police powers and punitive laws disproportionately target Aboriginal people who make up a third of the population and an overwhelming number of the homeless, and juvenile detainees who, after a series of escapes and other incidents, are now subject to adult-level justice measures and as of this year are detained in a former adult high security prison. |
| But it’s a dramatic policy change on the fireworks that would lose Giles an election. | But it’s a dramatic policy change on the fireworks that would lose Giles an election. |
| Lea likens it to “dazzle camouflage”, an old military term for using spectacle and background blending to disguise the true nature of an asset. | Lea likens it to “dazzle camouflage”, an old military term for using spectacle and background blending to disguise the true nature of an asset. |
| “It’s a good metaphor for how Darwin operates,” she says. “We’re not a nanny state, but are happy to be hyper-regulated when it comes to young people or black people.” | |
| “We can celebrate multiculturalism and the Indigenous presence but at same time oversee mechanisms of impoverishment,” she continues. | “We can celebrate multiculturalism and the Indigenous presence but at same time oversee mechanisms of impoverishment,” she continues. |
| “And we talk about our independence but actually structurally and constitutionally, there is a big difference between constitutionally recognised state powers versus having opportunities to operate self government via an act.” | “And we talk about our independence but actually structurally and constitutionally, there is a big difference between constitutionally recognised state powers versus having opportunities to operate self government via an act.” |
| The Northern Territory’s self-governance gives it responsibilities for some things, but the commonwealth looks after many big ticket issues, including Aboriginal affairs and mining resources to a large extent. And if the teenage Territory gets a bit ahead of itself – legalising euthanasia for example – the commonwealth can and will step in. | |
| The Howard government’s Northern Territory intervention is a prime example, says Lea. While it was enacted under the language and panic of a national emergency, the government didn’t need the extraordinary powers such an intervention into other states would require. | The Howard government’s Northern Territory intervention is a prime example, says Lea. While it was enacted under the language and panic of a national emergency, the government didn’t need the extraordinary powers such an intervention into other states would require. |
| “By calling it an emergency they were likening it to the kind of powers we have when we’re at war,” says Lea, adding that then-chief minister Clare Martin was not consulted. | “By calling it an emergency they were likening it to the kind of powers we have when we’re at war,” says Lea, adding that then-chief minister Clare Martin was not consulted. |
| “In the end they didn’t need to use those powers, because they were just sitting there.” | “In the end they didn’t need to use those powers, because they were just sitting there.” |
| Setting off fireworks in your own backyard is ultimately an adolescent act, just as territorial self-governance is not the full promise of adult statehood. | Setting off fireworks in your own backyard is ultimately an adolescent act, just as territorial self-governance is not the full promise of adult statehood. |
| Even the flag waves a bit of cheek at the commonwealth. Victorian artist Robert Ingpen included seven petals on the sturt desert rose when he designed the emblem in 1978; a petal for each of the six current states and one – at the top of course – for the North as the inevitable seventh. | Even the flag waves a bit of cheek at the commonwealth. Victorian artist Robert Ingpen included seven petals on the sturt desert rose when he designed the emblem in 1978; a petal for each of the six current states and one – at the top of course – for the North as the inevitable seventh. |
| Self governance is good, but statehood is the aim | Self governance is good, but statehood is the aim |
| The sly seventh petal was a message from Ingpen to the Territory’s people and government not to stop here. Self-governance is good, but statehood is the aim. | |
| “It was there hoping the time will come when statehood would be obvious for the northern part of Australia and it’s looking closer now,” he says. | “It was there hoping the time will come when statehood would be obvious for the northern part of Australia and it’s looking closer now,” he says. |
| Giles suggests 2018 would be an ideal date to celebrate the next step from self-governance to statehood. Regardless of when or how that occurs, one thing is believed – there will not be an end to cracker night. “I can’t see that,” he says. | |
| On Thursday morning, a handful of people will return their unused explosives to Worksafe NT. Many won’t – 2014 saw just 30kg surrendered, and amateur fireworks displays and crackers can be heard frequently throughout the year in carparks and back lanes. NT police have issued 62 infringement notices to people with contraband fireworks in the last year. | On Thursday morning, a handful of people will return their unused explosives to Worksafe NT. Many won’t – 2014 saw just 30kg surrendered, and amateur fireworks displays and crackers can be heard frequently throughout the year in carparks and back lanes. NT police have issued 62 infringement notices to people with contraband fireworks in the last year. |
| Work crews will remove up to nine tonnes of rubbish and used pyrotechnics, and local radio will fill the morning with talk on how people celebrated and complaints about the mess and the noise. But there will be no suggestion of canning it. | Work crews will remove up to nine tonnes of rubbish and used pyrotechnics, and local radio will fill the morning with talk on how people celebrated and complaints about the mess and the noise. But there will be no suggestion of canning it. |