With Guy Fawkes Day approaching, will New Zealand ever ban fireworks?

Explainer - It's the time of year some people love - and some people dread.

Between Guy Fawkes Night and Diwali celebrations, suburbs around Aotearoa have been echoing with the sound of fireworks late into the night. For many it's a celebration, but for others it's an infuriating time of year.

Every November, social media reliably fills up with chatter about banning fireworks sales to the public, and yet nothing has changed.

What exactly is happening with proposed fireworks bans, and how would they affect people? Here's a rundown of an explosive ongoing debate.

What are the current rules around fireworks sales?

Fireworks can only be sold for four days a year, from 2 November to the end of the day on 5 November, Guy Fawkes Day.

They can only be sold to people over 18 and must comply with safety regulations.

They must not be sold to the public unless the fireworks have been tested and have a fireworks certificate that confirms they meet the requirements of the Hazardous Substances (Fireworks) Regulations 2001.

Those changes were made back in 2006 - previously fireworks were on sale for 10 days and people as young as 14 could buy them. The government of the time said it stopped short of a total ban but expressed frustration with rising damage and injuries, the New Zealand Herald reported.

"The market is very heavily regulated," said James York of Bad Boy Fireworks, a family-owned business which has been selling fireworks in Auckland since 1948.

"The market has changed a lot in the last 10 years, with less importers, importing higher quality products. The importers all work together on compliance."

While sale periods are tightly restricted, there's no general law against using fireworks any time of the year.

Restrictions on where they can be used vary by location, and can be set by local councils. Many places such as Wellington and Auckland ban the use of them on public spaces or beaches and restrict them to private spaces.

Temporary fireworks bans were placed on several regions by Fire and Emergency New Zealand during last week's wind-fuelled storms.

Some major chains stopped selling fireworks some time ago. Countdown - now Woolworths - stopped selling fireworks in 2019, while the Warehouse stopped selling them in 2021, saying "we no longer feel fireworks have a place on our shelves".

Will they ever be banned entirely?

It's unlikely the government will introduce a bill to ban the sale of fireworks to the public any time soon.

The National MP who was presented with a petition calling for a ban told RNZ that "there's no appetite whatsoever from the government's agenda for looking at this".

"It's well outside of our batting lane with everything focused on economic growth and controlling government expenditure, et cetera," Maungakiekie MP Greg Fleming said.

"If it is going to proceed I would imagine that its best chance is going to be through a member's bill."

A member's bill is pulled at random from the House's famed "Biscuit tin" for consideration - previous issues that have come from the tin include marriage equality, end-of-life choice, or anti-smacking law reform.

The petition calling for a ban was signed by 90,000 people - and a lot of animal pawprints as well - and was presented to Parliament in July.

There's actually three petitions currently before Parliament on the issue, said Fleming, who is deputy chair of the petition committee.

So who's calling for a ban - and who's against it?

The SPCA and many other animal rights groups have long called for a ban, said Christine Sumner, the SPCA's scientific officer. They say that annual fireworks displays terrify animals.

"We have received a number of reports of pets that had gone through fences," Animates general manager of marketing Nathalie Moolenschot said recently. "A Saint Bernard jumped through a window to try and escape the noises."

"Every year, veterinarians are called to see horses that have been badly injured by panicking and running through fences, attempting to jump out of paddocks, or have run on to roads, endangering themselves and motorists," New Zealand Veterinary Association spokesperson Sally Cory has said.

Momentum for a ban is growing, the SPCA said.

"This year, more people have signed petitions calling for a ban on the private sale of fireworks than ever before, with a combined 95,354 signatories between the three petitions currently under consideration of the Petitions Select Committee," Sumner said.

"This clearly demonstrates that previous actions have not been adequate in addressing the concerns of the public; the status quo is not tenable."

But others who sell fireworks disagree with a complete ban, and call for more responsible use.

"We believe there is a small minority of people who would like to see a ban on the sale of fireworks," York said.

"If retail fireworks were banned this would cause significant harm to our business and others. It would also cause harm to the hundreds of people and families that sell fireworks around the country. This includes many charities, fund raising events etc."

It's hard to get a firm picture of how many people support a ban, although a 2023 survey commissioned by AA Insurance showed that 53 percent of those surveyed supported a ban for recreational use, while an additional 20 percent wanted to go further and have fireworks banned entirely.

So what will happen with these petitions?

A hearing which will combine all three fireworks petitions will be heard on 6 November, the day after Guy Fawkes Night.

"It's just coincidence but I did think that was an appropriate time to be holding it," Fleming said, laughing.

The petitions committee would make a report to sum up the hearings and make a recommendation to the House on possible action, if any.

The SPCA's Sumner said 13 petitions have been presented in the past to Parliament.

"Previous committees considering the petitions in recent years chose to make no recommendation, allowing the status quo to continue," she said.

"Despite assurances from the Petition Select Committee in 2021 that private sales of fireworks would decrease, there was an increase in sales, and subsequently an increase in fires and service calls to the NZ Police relating to fireworks."

Still, SPCA has sent in a submission on this latest petition.

"We will be attending the hearing for this petition to advocate support of a ban on the private sale and use of fireworks in New Zealand," Sumner said.

Fleming said he personally has come around to the idea of a ban of some sort, and expressed willingness to potentially support a member's bill on the subject.

"We should review these with the idea in mind that maybe we end the ... retail sale of fireworks and instead have that you've got to be a licensed operator to be able to purchase them.

"And we could extend that license to people like schools or other public bodies ... and I think that would also mean that you could protect fireworks for things like Diwali."

He felt there was still an appetite for change from some MPs in the Coalition.

"My side of the house tends to have a little more libertarian view... but I would say even on my side of the House from the conversations I've had I reckon the majority are leaning towards saying, yeah let's have a serious look at this."

Fleming also floated the idea of a conscience vote, in which MPs are officially not bound to vote along party lines.

Sumner said "we need more leadership from government on this issue".

"SPCA urges the Petition Committee to recommend legislation be developed to ban the private sale and use of fireworks. Such a ban would not impact the use of fireworks at controlled and publicly notified events.

"A member's bill may be an alternative way forward, however, these bills rely on being lucky enough to be drawn from the ballot ... and may sit for years never being drawn at all. New Zealanders have already waited long enough for a ban on the private sale and use of fireworks."

Are people using fireworks less?

According to a December 2024 report from the Ministry of Environment, not really - and the number of fireworks coming into the country has gone sharply up.

The report found:

• A total of 575,544kg of fireworks were imported in 2023 (around a 52 percent increase when compared with the 378,134kg of fireworks imported in 2022)
• One hundred and six fires were reported to be caused by fireworks in 2023 (around a 58 percent increase on the prior year which had a total of 67 incidents)
• A total of 341 new claims to ACC for fireworks-related injuries in 2023 (an increase of 92 injuries)
• A total of 1572 service calls to NZ Police relating to fireworks (around a 124 percent increase on the prior year)

The report said overall it saw "an increasing trend in the quantity of fireworks imported, along with fireworks-related fires, calls to the police and fireworks-related injuries in the short term," but that there had actually been an overall decline in firework-related incidents since 2000.

"The majority of kiwis still purchase fireworks and use these responsibly," York said. "It is seen as a start of summer event and a great way for families to spend time together, have a barbecue and some fun in their own backyard. It has been a tradition in NZ for decades."

How do people really feel about fireworks, anyway?

One big source of irritation for many is fireworks going off long outside the Guy Fawkes or Diwali celebration periods, often for weeks on end. A Facebook page called "Ban the Boom NZ" has more than 15,000 members.

This year Diwali, the Hindu Festival of lights which is arranged by the lunar calendar, fell close to Guy Fawkes around 20 October, which means fireworks have been heard from mid-October on.

"New Zealand is now a very multicultural country and some of these cultures like to celebrate events such as Chinese New Year and Diwali," York said. "With the growing population of the Indian community in NZ the demand for fireworks is increasing for Diwali.

"The fireworks you see going off at other times of the year are from people who buy these during the four-day sales period and keep them for other events."

"People using fireworks at all hours of the night can be an issue," York agreed.

The idea of restricting fireworks to public displays only has also gained some traction.

York said a retail sales ban would impact fireworks sellers' overall ability to do business, however.

"Retail fireworks make up over 95 percent of our business. Without retail fireworks we would no longer be in a position to do firework displays. Many of these are funded by our business selling retail fireworks.

"For example our long-running display for Taupaki School, that we have been doing for them as a fundraiser for 38 years. This event draws in over 12,000 people each year and without retail fireworks this event would no longer exist. This is a major fundraising event and there are also many other businesses that attend and make revenue from this, such as the 30-plus food vendors.

"Retail fireworks essentially props up the display firework market. There are simply not enough sponsors or councils willing to pay for displays."

Sumner said the SPCA supports public displays which would avoid harming animals.

"We acknowledge that many New Zealanders include firework displays when celebrating special occasions such as Matariki, Diwali, Chinese New Year, and Guy Fawkes. We are supportive of efforts to minimise the impact of fireworks such as controlled and notified public firework displays, which allow communities to celebrate while minimising harm on animals."

Fleming said ultimately, responsible use of fireworks comes down to people being mindful of others - but that's easier said than done sometimes.

"There is one way and that's for neighbours to be considerate but that's not the world in which I inhabit."

The issue of fireworks bans won't be resolved this year, but Fleming said it could still reach some kind of critical mass.

"There's been plenty of things over the years that their time has eventually come ... If they can hit a tipping point I think this one definitely could."

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