Backyard battles go beyond the pale
NASTY neighbourhood disputes could be taken out of the hands of
overwhelmed councils as the State Government tackles the spiralling
social problem plaguing our suburbs.
With some councillors admitting defeat over backyard battles,
Attorney-General Cameron Dick says the Government may intervene in a
wider range of disputes.
Under draft laws, the Queensland Civil and Administrative Tribunal
will act as a ``neighbours court'' to help resolve fights over trees
and fences, two common causes of neighbourhood warfare.
``If this new approach proves successful, the Queensland Government
could consider applying it to other neighbourhood issues such as noise
and odour,'' Mr Dick flagged yesterday.
One veteran councillor has urged the State Government to intervene in
such disputes, saying councils were out of their depth and
floundering.
Ipswich councillor Paul Tully said: ``In my 31 years in council this
has been the biggest issue.
``Some of these persistent perpetrators are very adept at pushing
boundaries and know evidence is very difficult to gather. Councils
find it very difficult to catch them in the act.''
Brisbane City Council alone received 16,272 calls and complaints about
noise last financial year, including 8445 about domestic animals,
latest figures show. Dispute Resolution Centres across the state also
mediated 135 neighbour matters last financial year, 140 in 2008-09,
and 128 in 2007-08.
Brisbane Lord Mayor Campbell Newman said the council found itself
under fire from all sides when it came to neighbourhood disputes.
``We don't want to be in the position like the United Nations
everybody shoots at them. That's literally how it feels at times,'' he
said.
More work was needed on establishing and enforcing clear boundaries of
acceptable behaviour, he said.
Brisbane Opposition Leader Cr Shayne Sutton said: ``It's not just an
issue about noise, it's the type of noise, how loud the noise is, how
long the noise is maintained. Both the State Government and the
council needs to be at the table.''
The growing problem was a symptom of changing lifestyles, said Local
Government Association chief executive Greg Hallam.
``Some of these disputes are intractable. We don't have the same
good-neighbourly attitude or ethos we had 20 or 30 years ago. People
are far more transient, far less tolerant,'' Mr Hallam said.
Desperate residents inundated The Sunday Mail with emails and calls
about their disputes following a report last week about backyard
mechanic Andrew Bretherton.
Mr Bretherton's neighbours resorted to taking secret photographs of
his work on dozens of vehicles on his acreage property in the upmarket
Brisbane suburb of Brookfield.
Across the state residents said they were being driven mad in similar
cases, and that councils and police had been unable to deal with the
problem.
On the flip side are neighbours who complain at the proverbial drop of a hat.
Former attorney-general Linda Lavarch flagged the possibility of
introducing a neighbours court to settle disputes in 2006.
A government report suggested the court as one option in 2008 after
concluding residents faced an ``absence of strong enforcement measures
and actions by authorities''.
