Litterbugs The Butt Of Govt Campaign

Illawarra Mercury

Monday July 16, 2001

By DAVID ILIFFE

No ifs or butts - the Illawarra is a relatively safe haven for car-driving smokers who use the streets as an ashtray.

Driving smokers throwing cigarettes from cars were the worst offenders of all people caught littering under the State Government's tough new laws.

Yesterday, Environment Minister Bob Debus released figures showing a record 5071 fines had been dished out to litterbugs across the state since new litter laws and a new tiered scale of fines were introduced last July.

Mr Debus said councils were responsible for the majority of on-the-spot fines issued in that period.

But the figures show Illawarra councils (Wollongong, Shellharbour and Kiama) issued just 25 litter fines in the period compared to 263 in Sutherland, 63 in Newcastle and 80 in the Shoalhaven - the 12th highest in the state.

Shellharbour City Council issued six litter fines, Kiama Council nine and Wollongong City Council 10.

Wollongong City Council general manager Rod Oxley said the council hadn't applied as many resources to the problem as it would have liked, but the situation would change in the near future.

``The manager responsible for the area our infringement officers work in has prepared a paper for me which will increase the resources we put into this, which will no doubt lead to a greater number of notices being issued," he said.

Neither Kiama nor Shellharbour council general managers were available for comment.

The landmark new litter laws boast a range of on-the-spot fines, including $60 for littering small items such as bottle tops and stubbed out cigarettes, $200 for general littering, lit cigarettes and any item thrown from a vehicle, and $375 for dangerous littering such as smashing glass bottles in a public place.

Throwing cigarette butts from vehicles was the most common type of offence, accounting for 62 per cent of the total fines under the new laws.

The top 10 councils for issuing litter fines were Sutherland, Marrickville, Sydney City, Blacktown, Fairfield, Gosford, Ku-ring-gai, Bankstown, Campbelltown and South Sydney.