Smoker ban no whiffs or butts
THE State Government is reviewing a desperate plea from the Cancer Council to ban smoking from highrise balconies on the Gold Coast.
The push has been backed by the city’s body corporate groups who have been inundated with requests to establish “smoke-free” highrises.
Southern Gold Coast Chamber of Commerce president Gail O’Neil, who manages Beach House at Coolangatta, said the change was “inevitable” but urged Attorney General Yvette D’Ath to rush legislative changes through parliament.
“I would say about 60 to 70 per cent of our owners have formally requested in writing that we make (Beach House) a smoke-free building,” he said.
“Most are timeshare owners who spend a lot of time there and are fed-up with secondhand smoke. Now that we know second-hand smoke is a massive health risk it is essential that we are given the legal right to decide which buildings are smoke-free.”
In January, Queensland University of Technology researchers were commissioned by the previous government to assess the feasibility of allowing body corporate groups to ban smoking on balconies.
The decision now sits with Ms D’Ath who is reviewing legal changes across the entire body corporate field.
QUT law professor Bill Duncan, who heads the team of researchers, said the State Government had been given an analysis of public feedback.
He said giving extra power to body corporate groups was supported by the majority of respondents, including the Cancer Council, but maintained the laws would be a tough sell on the Gold Coast. “Developers generally do not want the idea of smoke-free blocks because it can restrict the international market,” he said.
“The Gold Coast also has a very big holiday market so it would be a lot harder to sell the concept to developers there.
“The Government now has to consider whether it wants to make a legal change and enhance body corporate powers or allow people to continue to smoke on balconies.”
Cancer Council Queensland spokesman Katie Clift said it was time to hand residents the power to ban smoking.