29 September 2005

NIMBY's and Public Indemnity Strike Again.

| S4anta
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The Canberra Times has this unfortunate story of a group of Forrest kiddies having their holiday plans waylaid, and six months work destroyed by heavy handed public indemnity requirements and complaints from dithering neighbours with nothing better to do.

“The boys aged nine to 14 had built a series of jumps in Collins Park, Forrest, to keep themselves occupied, but found them razed by front-end loaders in the first week of the school holidays. ”

Now pardon my language but this is just shit. Growing up Belco, i can remember at three of things built by suburban kids within a half hours ride from my childhood home. Rarely were there accidents other than scrapes or bruises and the odd stick shoved through someone spokes. The excust that they are running with is that the park needs to be protected as it being considered for heritage listing. This is happening at the same time they are running promotions such as Round Town where they are attempting to encourage the use of Canberra’s Open Spaces.

Pull your heads in you turds, just a sign of the times I guess.

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WEll how do we get peopole barred from suing – that sounds like the way to go.
About 3 years go, Downer Communicty Association got a grant (from Katy Gallagher) to bguild a jump track at downer oval. They built it, fenced it, is was really popular. Then it had to be bulldozed due to insurance issues. And the kids went back to hooning around the carpark.
IT is a crazy world.

We need some sensible public liability legislation like they have in NSW where shit like this just wouldn’t happen. You are statute barred from suing in just a situation like this.

The Gov’t is pretty well at the mercy of the insurers in this case – if they don’t go around sucking the fun out of life, the premiums they have to pay on public indemnity go through the roof (at which point, I’m sure that at least some of the esteemed posters on this site would have something to say about the gov’t wasting their hard earned through a lack of planning).

It’s a sucky sucky world.

Imagine what would happen if a teacher made naughty kids stand under a magpie nest nowadays!

I feel no need to comment here, my sentiments exactly chaps and chappesses…

not letting go; swimmer crabs are the worst offender. I had one once that grabbed my finger(I was going to use him for bait) and would not let go until he was in about four parts. Luckily I had a blunt heavy instrument in my proximity. hurt like all buggery.

I remember being in primary school where if we misbehaved during PE, the teacher would give us five minutes in the sin bin. The sn bin just happened to be right under a magpies nest and the rest of the class would spend five minutes laughing their asses off at the unfortunate kid who was being chased around the oval. gold. pure gold.

(snicker snicker)

As a child I was merely bitten by a mule. On the finger.

But down the track you can add just about every other bite, pinch or sting possessed by the animal kingdom.

Shit Thumper, I imagine being chased by an angry Emu isn’t too much fun. I had a Kangaroo chase me a couple of years ago, and that was pretty scary. Of course, I told some people at work and I have never lived it down since!

Growling Ferret12:45 pm 29 Sep 05

Look, when I was growing up, at least two kiddie (with occasionally helpful dads) constructed BMX tracks in Stirling were demolished, levelled, and fenced off 15 years ago for the ‘safety of the public’ (that, and new houses).

Its not a new thing for these things to be shut down. And Collins Park is in the middle of the snooty Tasmania Circle…

The kids should grab their shovels and move 500m up the hill to make a new track behind Mugga Way in the Red Hill Reserve…

Then they could build a speed track – they could get up to 50kmh on the bmx racing down the hill, hit the 1m high jump, and really see how much damage they can inflict upon themselves!

Bulldog – it’s just tiring to hear about such issues that take up sooo much time of the idle-minded members of our priviledged community. There are just to many ppl here who have nothing else to do but impede on the rights of others – all the more proof that Canberrans have a lot of growing up to do…kids should be allowed to be kids, test the boundaries etc etc without the ability of course to sue someone FFS!

Staggeringly stupid. We can’t wap kids in cotton-wool. As Thumper points out, they will get scraped knees, broken bones and unfortunately sometimes they will get seriously injured. It’s a fact of life.

Parents who see a child’s injury as a paycheck are the ones to blame here. More should be done in the courts to discourage frivolous litigation and public liability suits. Then we can see a return to normality where children can climb a fucking tree.

Good point Indi, no way to try and cure Canberra of it’s tarnished image.

How about a “got what they deserved because they were stupid” clause?

perhaps the act needs ‘public stupidity’ legislation.

The problem is the Govt has been forced into this ridiculous situation by the fact that too many idiots have been able to claim damages because little Johnny or Judy (often through their own stupidity) have injured themselves on public land. Imagine the outcry if someone’s child came along and tried to ride over these earth mounds, fell off and crippled themselves!

Maybe we will see it come to pass that children won’t be allowed out in public (a good thing!) anymore because of the many ‘dangers’ that surround us all daily. We’ll have a society of pale-faced, obese kids with no fingers and mutated thumbs from being locked indoors and playing PS2 all day long.

Thumper, Brisbanes new farm park has already erected fences around the parks Jacaranda trees to stop people climbing them. It has ruined the look of the park. Climbing trees on public property is already being banned.

Damn skippy. Get kids outside. make them build BMX tracks. Make them climb trees rather than watch telly etc. Good for rainy days technology is, but to be good in this world one needs to know how it works…

Hey, I’m one of the people who don’t like children and think they shouldn’t be seen in public, and I really endorse them having these things in parks. If they are out skating or riding at the parks, they aren’t hanging around the mall, or sitting in front of the tv. We keep talking about childhood obesity and stuff, and then the govt bans them from doing something that is ACTIVE. This is absurd.

Problem is ssanta, this kind of event is a product of the bureaucratic nature of this town…next you’ll have an amendment to a law that will insist that children shouldn’t be seen in public.

And some wonder why Canberra has an image problem.

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