Long wait for smoking ban in CBD
IPSWICH City Council is waiting patiently for the State Government to approve a list of amendments to its local laws, including one which would ban smoking in the mall and at public transport waiting points.
In a process which has taken almost two years, the Department of Local Government must sign off on council's amendments before handing them back for a community consultation process.
Division 7 councillor Andrew Antoniolli said council was still hopeful the anti-smoking laws would take effect before the end of this year.
"It has been a long time coming, that's for sure," Cr Antoniolli said.
"It is important to ensure our local laws are reflective of the public's needs.
"We have simplified and condensed our local laws to the point where instead of having 30 local laws, we now have six.
In addition to smoking, the new laws will cover everything from animals to parking, parks, health and safety, administration and powers and council meetings.
The phraseology of the new laws has also been simplified in an attempt to make them more relevant.
Community consultation on the new smoking laws will be advertised in local media, and while Cr Antoniolli encouraged residents to take part, he said that it would be an efficient process.
If and when the new smoking laws come in, council will allow a grace period in which those who are caught breaking the rules will be given a warning.
Cr Antoniolli expected 80 to 90% of people to comply without having to be told.
"We won't go in with a jackboot approach," he said.
"At the end of the day we are keen to make our CBD a healthy environment where you don't have to walk through other people's smoke."
