Across the rest of mainland Australia the public sales of fireworks was banned in the 1980s, following pressure from medical and fire authorities. Odd man out was Tasmania which continues with a "cracker night" in May to mark, of all anachronisms, "Empire Day", but a complicated and expensive permit system introduced in 2009 has put a real dampener on the casual backyard pyrotechnics we still accept here.
In 1994, after a particularly bloody and fiery Guy Fawkes night, our parliamentarians banned the sale of fire crackers and sky rockets. As kids, tossing lighted strings of tom thumbs and double-happies at unsuspecting mates was one of the highlights of the week, and I predicted the 1994 ban would be the death of Guy Fawkes. But the ingenuity of the fireworks-makers soon seemed to get around these bans.
However, just because the Warehouse and other vendors manage to perpetuate this now pointless exercise in burning our hard-earned cash, doesn't mean we, as a community, can't say "enough", it's time to end this long-forgotten grudge against Catholics and move on.
Wellington City Council is showing the way, this year canning its financial backing of an annual Guy Fawkes Festival in favour of a major fireworks display in July to mark the Maori New Year Festival, Matariki. Mayor Justin Lester said Wellington wanted to lead the country in making Matariki a major civic event. Local chamber of commerce chief executive John Milford agreed saying celebrating the Maori New Year was more relevant than the archaic Guy Fawkes.
Auckland Council banned Guy Fawkes fireworks in public places in 2014 and does not financially support public displays. Perhaps it's time that like Sydney at New Year, and the Wellingtonians, Auckland Council appreciated how popular a big fireworks display can be.
My choice would not be Matariki in mid-winter, but the high summer month of March, as part of the party time that brings Aucklanders together for both the annual Auckland Arts Festival and ASB Polyfest, the largest Maori and Pacific Island festival in the world.
Ending the public sale of fireworks, of course, is up to central government. Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said on Monday she thought private access to fireworks was "a pain in the butt" but drew back from a ban. Perhaps when she adds up the ACC claims and the hospital and fire service costs for this year's Guy Fawkes, she might change her mind.