By ANEEKA SIMONIS
SMOKERS will need to butt out before stepping within 10 metres of hundreds of council-owned buildings across Cardinia Shire.
Earlier this month, council adopted a new law which prohibited smoking within 10 metres of council buildings.
The restrictions have been imposed on more than 400 buildings owned by Cardinia Shire effective from Monday 15 June.
State-wide smoking bans introduced in April this year prohibited smokers from lighting up within four metres of children’s indoor play centres, public hospitals, registered community health centres and Victorian Government building entrances.
Council’s manager for Development and Compliance Services Brett Jackson said many council buildings that provided child-related services were already smoke-free zones as per earlier legislation.
“Smoking was already banned inside all council buildings. (The new local law) simply extends this same ban to within 10 metres of those same buildings, and will further benefit the health and well-being of people within the shire who will be able to enter and exit council buildings without the potential of being exposed to smoking,” he said.
The push for smoke-free areas, co-ordinated by all levels of government, is designed to protect the community from second-hand tobacco smoke as well as de-normalise the addictive behaviour.
In last April, council officers were given the power to enforce smoking bans around areas commonly used by children such as playgrounds, skate parks, swimming pools and sporting venues during underage games.
It followed on from a ban which stopped smoking at designated areas at Victorian patrolled beaches and restrictions on people smoking in sheltered areas such as bus and tram stops, or in motor vehicles, when carrying a person under the age of 18.
BREAK AWAY
EXPANDED smoking bans introduced by Cardinia Shire Council in recent times have forged a mixed response by ratepayers.
On the Pakenham Gazette’s Facebook page, the new legislation was mostly supported, suggesting a large proportion of the community want to further extinguish the behaviour.
“This needs to cover entrances in stores and shopping centres. I hate having to walk through the haze with my 15-month-old daughter,” wrote Dad Dylan Hill on the Facebook page.
But others believed it wasn’t too great an issue, questioning the legislation in regards to other important issues needing council attention.
“I would have thought there were bigger issues for council,” wrote Tony Cafini on the Gazette Facebook page.
