Noise laws to regulate off-road motorbikes in Queensland should be repealed, as the current legislation has failed to address the problem of excessive noise, according to a Crime and Misconduct Commission review tabled in state parliament today.
In 2006, noise laws introduced into the Police Powers and Responsibilities Act 2000 gave police and the courts greater enforcement powers to target motorbike riders who created excessive noise in off-road areas.
In reviewing these laws, the CMC received more than 400 public submissions and consulted with key stakeholders and interest groups.
CMC Director of Research and Prevention, Dr Margot Legosz, says that the noise laws have done little to change the situation, and that punitive measures are not the answer.
‘The burden of resolving noise problems has long been left to the police, but this has proven ineffective for a number of reasons,’ Dr Legosz said.
‘The enforcement scheme is overly complex and flawed by legal ambiguities, and the investigative requirements and administrative processes are onerous.’
Dr Legosz said that the police are given limited guidance in interpreting the laws, and face difficulties in intercepting riders as well as balancing competing policing priorities. She added that further amendments to the policing powers would only be a band-aid solution.
‘As urban development expands, riding areas decrease and the popularity of off-road motorbike riding increases, and there is little doubt that community frustrations will be exacerbated.’
‘Our report aims to strike a balance between the rights of community members who are entitled to enjoy public and private space free from excessive noise, and lawful off-road motorbike riders,’ Dr Legosz said.
‘The CMC has recommended that the current noise laws be repealed and replaced with a series of enforcement strategies which respond to the characteristics of the problem. These would be tailored to the needs of communities where off-road motorbike noise is an issue. A one-size-fits-all strategy won’t work.’
The CMC has also recommended that several state and local government groups responsible for managing trail bike riding initiatives be abolished. Instead, a ministerial taskforce and an advisory committee would be created to provide a whole-of-government response to managing off-road motorbike riding in Queensland.
The two groups would develop and implement a long-term, statewide strategy and also coordinate and further the new enforcement strategies the CMC has recommended. These include a regulatory scheme for decibel emission standards, which would regulate the distribution and sale of off-road motorbikes and exhausts in Queensland.
Local governments would also develop enforceable land planning and development guidelines for the use of off-road motorbikes on private residential property.
People affected by motorbike noise would be able to apply for a noise abatement order through a civil regulatory scheme which would be easily accessible, fair and timely. The Queensland Civil and Administrative Tribunal would have jurisdiction over these orders.
The CMC has also recommended that management of the conflict between urban development and existing off-road motorbike clubs, and the creation of new clubs and recreational riding areas should be considered in long-term land planning.
View the CMC report - Sound advice: a review of the effectiveness of police powers in reducing excessive noise from off-road motorbikes report or view a summary of this report.
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