Feed ducks, pay $6000

Council’s extraordinary penalties for park activities

FEEDING the ducks, charging your phone on a power point and playing music through a speaker – these are the everyday activities that could see you face fines of more than $6000 in Gold Coast parks.

Local Law No. 9 covers behaviour in parks and has been called “archaic” by critics.

The current version of the council law has been on the books for nearly a decade. According to the law you can’t:

• Use electric power from a power point.

• Perform scientific research on a plant or animal.

• Swear, using offensive or indecent language or behaviour.

• Hit a golf ball.

• Throw a stone.

• Interfere with a plant.

• Interfere with or feed a non-domestic animal.

• Bathe in an ornamental pond or lake.

• Use a megaphone, sound amplifier, radio or loud speaker.

If caught offenders risk fines of 50 penalty units, or $6307.

The local law also governs illegal camping, with more than 20 people caught using power points illegally in the past year.

Those caught moved on voluntarily, saving themselves from being charged.

There are now calls from prominent civic leaders to review the laws.

Gold Coast Combined Chamber of Commerce President Martin Brady backed a push to review the law, saying archaic regulations should be revisited to be more in step with modern times.

“I believe a lot of these regulations are archaic and in need of review and potentially removal from local law,” he said.

“We want people to use the parks and use them more freely while being respectful of others.

“Given the city wants to encourage more people to be healthy and use the parks, stopping them from using power points, for example, is odd.”

A city spokesman confirmed there were no plans at present to review the laws

Council community and cultural services boss Bob La Castra said he was surprised by the fineable offences and that they had been enforced.

“The spirit of this law is to make sure that people treat the parks well and with respect,” he said.

“It is actually pretty funny when you drill down and look at the regulations, some of which I am sure have never actually been enforced.”