Would it need that? Surely the proximate cause is that the flares are too easily acquired? Aren't they specialist safety devices whose sale could be restricted?

This exact thing happened in the NT in the second half and a bloke at the back was singled out for a chat for having the nerve to start "saying things about cops."

What do I want? I want the cops to stop rorting my club for tens of thousands of dollars with levels of security more suitable for a G20 conference. If they aren't going to do proper searches and enforce fan segregation then there is no clear reason for putting so many cops on the street and sending us the bill.

Even then, do we seriously need a fkn riot squad brought in to handle a few kids who ignite flares?

And are flares that big of a deal. We come here every year and no problem. White oztraya media got people scared bro. Need more bbqs and shielas in bikinis.

I cringe when I read thoughts like that. Restricting the sale of flares will not reduce their incidence at games one iota. It will make the price go up from $50 a pack over the counter to $100 at the corner. Flares have an expiration date of 3 years approx after purchase. You have to carry "in date" flares in a boat. Disposing of the out of date pack at a profit might tempt some.

There are over half a million registered boat owners in Australia. No shortage. About $11 million worth of boats are stolen each year. Getting hold of flares other than buying them would never be hard.

How about something much more direct and simple:

$20,000 fine for carrying a pyrotechnic or explosive device into or near an entertainment arena.
$50,000 fine for igniting or a pyrotechnic or explosive device at or near a proscribed area or in a proscribed manner.
$50,000 fine and a custodial sentence for causing injury and/or alarm by deliberate use of a pyrotechnic or explosive device in a proscribed manner or in a proscribed area.

Whole thing stops in one day.

Thanks for the info and the sensible suggestion for the fix. What are the current penalties for the these types of offences?

Bet you think things like the patriot act are great deterrents too.

big fines are pointless and no deterrent if the people doing these things have nothing to begin with.

Yes they are ffs.

On a serious note aren't you sick of the negative attention we get from this?

I'm going to guess u probably don't give two arses but that might be because u don't care if the game really grows here.

Stop their Centrelink payments.

not much of a deterrent when most of their income is from cash in hand or ill-gotten gains

Would like to see the FFA stand their ground here. Take away their drums (Cheers horda looks like you did that job there I am sure the FFA will look the other way on a transfer for you for your good deed)
Take away the banners
ban them from tifos
take away the flags
take away the megas

At this stage punish the terrace NOT the players. IF they continue to do it again then yes start to think about the drastic actions.

On the contrary. It was just that I was thanking TSF for his/her response. I don't know what the answer is at all. I just wanted information and asked questions and/or made suggestions.

You obviously don't understand what the Patriot Act is.

The Patriot Act is American. I couldn't give a flying fuck about it. It has less than fucken zero to do with Australia and less than half of that fuck-all to do with football.

I do give a fuck about burdening a chunk of society with needless restrictions including onerous imposts like compulsory IDs and background checks in order to (compulsorily) buy a safety device. Why should boat owners bear the burden of costs and restrictions because some louts like fireworks? If anybody should be hit-up for the cost of enforcing an uneeded, complex and useless law then it should be A-League attendees. $10-$20 a game might underwrite it.

I react to this shit because it is the same lame concept that officially dribbled sideways out of the mouths of FFA Officials last time this came up.

Why do you hate boat owners so much?

Big fines are not pointless and they have immediate and lasting effects. They are paid whether you have the money in pocket now or whether you have to go earn it in the future. If you have material possessions they can be seized by the Courts and sold off. They have a massive impact on behaviour.

Before the 1970s people happily threw rubbish out of cars along every highway and byway. Keep Australia Beautiful was costly and ineffective.

States brought in large fines for littering from cars (about 4 weeks wages equivalent). It took just weeks to change the attitude of generations.

When Greg Chappell hit his maiden century, thousands of spectators jumped the fence and ran out to pat him on the back and walk all over the pitch.

The introduction of large fines stopped that practice dead. Nobody even thinks it's a merry idea anymore.

Speeding was your right if you owned a car only a couple of decades ago. Death from accidents was ho-hummed and "it wouldn't ever happen to me" attitude prevailed. Fines were low.

Governments introduced massive fines and other penalties for speeding and brought on greater enforcement. Still happens, but absolutely nothing in comparison to the past. Real losses of life have reduced to a remarkable, once thought impossible, degree.

Ditto drink driving.

Nobody said that we hate boat owners. In my case I was just asking some questions. Why get so angry?

yes, i agree that big fines will change the behaviour of the masses. But this is not the masses we are talking about here.

Suggestion from an AFL fan on the ABC this morning. 'Award a goal for every flare against the team's supporters who light flares, it will make a boring game exciting'. ehhhh

:lol: :lol: :lol:

I still don't get why the RBB don't self police and rat out the losers who keep tarnishing the rest of them. What has to happen before the RBB take appropriate action to look after the team and sport they apparently love.

If it is a minority who think and act that way, the eliminate them and move on!

Or if it's just a part of the RBB's core values then the whole group gets disbanded.

Nah i hate boat owners. Make them jump through hoops for their safety devices for all i care.

Edited by melbourne_terrace: 8/2/2016 01:02:18 PM

My response wasn't to your post OT.
It was to the ignorant throw away line tossed out by somebodyelse who has a whole lot more brains than the average 442 flog.

and: to MT
They hate you too. It's not a one way street.



Edited by SWandP: 8/2/2016 01:07:17 PM

Instead of fining the club, which won't stop those people who rip flares why not fine instead of just banning the people who rip flares, fine them as well instead of the club. Much more likely to stop doing it when it personally costs them a lot.

have to agree

Its against the brotherhood BBQ to self police!!!

Wise words.

The main argument against flares isn't safety (from what I can tell), it's 'They are giving the media ammunition against the game'. Do we really believe that if the flares stopped negative coverage would? Not a chance. You could all sit at a game with your arms folded not moving and there would be an angle.

Seriously how hard is this to police. Are the police that inep that they cant stop this from occuring. They probably need to police 10-20 people in the RBB to stop this, they have police dogs and bag searches and they still cant stop it. Just require a boat licence to buy flares, over 18yrs old, put a serial code inside the handle so you can trace it, bobs your uncle. No more flares. Take more measures to stop them. Make the police do their fucking job. No one has to self police anyone and I wouldnt want to anyway.

Edited by RbbAnonymous: 8/2/2016 01:56:50 PM

:lol: Yea its the Police fault, how about people stop bringing flares to games and support your team with out them.