NSW: Picture of man wanted over 'noise shooting'

Sydney Morning Herald
November 26, 2007

Police have issued an arrest warrant for a man wanted over the alleged murder of father of four Stephen Holmes at the weekend.

They are looking for 59-year-old Stanley Francis Maguire, who is also known as John Maguire.

They warn anyone who sees him to be careful and not to approach him, but to call police immediately.

He is 176cm tall, medium build with short grey hair and blue eyes. He is also believed to have tattoos on both forearms.

Anyone who with information is asked to call Wollongong Police on 02 4226 7899 or CrimeStoppers on 1800 333 000.

Mr Holmes was killed after confronting his neighbour. He died after being shot in the chest ...

Related posts:
Man shot dead after loud music complaint
Shot dead for complaining about loud music

Sydney: 64 hours of steady drinking

Sydney Morning Herald
November 17, 2007

THE owner of an Oxford Street pub has threatened court action if she is refused permission to open for 64 hours straight every weekend.

Anna Stillone, owner of the Burdekin Hotel, has applied to City of Sydney Council to open all five floors of her hotel from 8am until 2am every weekday and from 8am Friday until midnight on Sunday. Extended trading is expected to double the pub's patronage to more than 800 people at peak periods.

The development application has sparked an angry campaign from nearby residents. "Noise is the biggest issue," said one, Christine Byrne. "It's a highly residential area, and here we have the potential to have, every weekend, all day and every night, over 800 people at the gateway to Oxford Street boozing and smoking, screaming and fighting. We will never sleep."

Ms Byrne said Oxford Street was much noisier and disruptive than when she moved in 10 years ago. "The number of late-trading nightclubs has grown and grown … . It's mayhem as they pour out of these places," she said.

"Our owners' corporation is now paying between $100 and $150 a week every week … to clean faeces, urine and drug paraphernalia from our stairwells."

She said the Burdekin had a history of breaching its noise limits, but Ms Stillone denied this ...

Ban on truck brake noise

Courier Mail
November 19, 2007

TRUCK muffler businesses should boom in the wake of a clampdown on engine brake noise that has been approved unanimously by the Australian Transport Council.

National Transport Commission safety spokesman Tim Eaton said engine braking noise on heavy vehicles fitted with worn, defective or inferior mufflers had been a community concern for some time.

"During consultation, the community broadly supported the regulation, while the trucking industry's views ensured that it is practical and targets only the small number of operators who do the wrong thing," he said ...

Eaton said trucks fitted with purpose-designed mufflers in good condition were reasonably quiet in any case, and would not be impacted by the new regulation.

"Noise problems emerge when mufflers deteriorate or are replaced with an inferior product, so fixing the problem is as easy as replacing the muffler," he added.

"Once it has been implemented by that states and territories, this regulation will help to ensure a minority of noisy vehicles do not result in community-led truck curfews and restrictions, which could impact on productivity."

The development of a national regulation and enforcement technology involved government and industry and was unanimously supported by the Environment Protection and Heritage Council ...

The Regulatory Impact Statement can be seen at the NTC website www.ntc.gov.au: here and here.

From NTC's website:

Title: Regulation to manage engine brake noise approved
Article Date: 13 Nov 2007

An in-service standard to manage engine brake noise has been approved unanimously by the Australian Transport Council (ATC)

The loud ‘bark’ caused by engine brakes on heavy vehicles fitted with worn, defective or inferior mufflers has been a community concern for some time, yet, until now, it has remained unregulated.

National Transport Commission (NTC) General Manager Safety & Environment Tim Eaton said the development of a national regulation and enforcement technology has been a collaborative effort involving government and industry ...

QLD: Barking's our pet hate

Courier Mail
November 25, 2007

BARKING dogs, noisy machinery, dusty work sites and litterers are driving us crazy.

More than half of all waste complaints taken by local government over the past year related to littering while 52 per cent of noise complaints were about neighbours' pets.

The Environmental Protection Agency and local government officers fielded a total of 21,512 environmental complaints in 2006-07, with noise issues sparking the most – 8494 ...

Clive Begg from the University of Queensland's school of social sciences said although the number of complaints reflected a growing population, it also showed that people now sought a higher degree of civility.

"People expect higher standards from their neighbours, the community, government and employers," Dr Begg said.

Dr Begg said as more people crowded in to Brisbane, with larger housing blocks being cut up, territorial issues also arose.

WA man shot twice in row over loud music

Sydney Morning Herald
November 11, 2007

A 25-year-old man has undergone emergency surgery for gunshot wounds after being shot for ignoring a request to turn down his music.

The man was entertaining friends at his home in Boddington, South of Perth, on Saturday when the incident occurred.

"They were having a few drinks and playing some music," police spokesman Trevor Davis said.

A visitor at the neighbouring house approached the 25-year-old man, asking him to turn the music down, Insp Davis said.

"He spoke to the victim but to no avail," he said.

Police allege the man then left but returned to the neighbouring house with a .22 calibre semi-automatic rifle.

"He pulled into the driveway of his friend's home and fired three shots in the direction of the victim's house while standing at the dividing fence," Insp Davis said.

"It is alleged he then took aim at the victim and fired two shots at him.

"The first shot struck him in the stomach and the second struck him in the buttocks." ...

Griffith University: Noise just sickening

Courier Mail
November 11, 2007

SICK to death of noisy neighbours? Researchers have linked chronic noise to sleep disorders, learning difficulties and high blood pressure.

Griffith University School of Environment lecturer Deanna Tomerini said it was clear from the Environmental Health Council of Australia study that "unwanted sound" was as detrimental to public health as air and water pollution, and that the problem was growing.

"Higher-density living, population growth, the increase in road and air traffic – it's evident noise problems are increasing. More people are being affected by noise," she said.

Ms Tomerini warned that governments could expect health problems to increase as noise problems worsened.

"Noise should be given the same priority as any other health issue," she said.

"Noise just has to be up there at the same level. We need to identify the extent of the problem now. Many of the things to be done to prevent noise need to be done at the planning stage."

Inner-city resident Marion Brown, 59, said there was no doubt her health had suffered after two years of enduring the "neighbours from hell" ...

"It's got to the point where I've been so tired from being unable to sleep because of their noise, I've slept in the car," she said. "I didn't want to sell, but I felt like I had no other choice." ...

Ms Tomerini said it would be helpful to have a more integrated approach, including a single agency to receive complaints.

Man shot dead after loud music complaint

news.com.au
November 26, 2007

A MAN was shot dead in front of his family home after confronting a neighbour once too often to demand he turn the music down.

The running neighbourhood stoush took a violent turn on the weekend when coal miner Stephen Holmes was killed by a single shotgun blast to the chest.

The alleged shooter was being tracked by police on the Central Coast last night after his car was found abandoned on the F3 near Mt White west of Sydney.

A family friend of Mr Holmes said the neighbour was constantly playing music so loud late into the night that no one could get any sleep.

"This guy told another neighbour that he was going to play his music again on Saturday night and that if Stephen tried to stop him he would kill him," she said ...

The 41-year-old father of four, who had just had a big promotion at the Helensburgh Coal mine, died on the scene while his eldest child sat by his side.

The youngest, just two years old, could be heard repeating "my daddy's dead, my daddy's dead" ...

Neighbours told The Daily Telegraph numerous complaints had been made against the alleged shooter.

"There were all sorts of weird rumours going around about him. He used to sit out in the rain playing his banjo or ukulele into the early hours of the morning," one neighbour said.

Another neighbour said he heard the two men swearing loudly at each other before the gun shot went off ...

The banjo-playing fugitive is believed to be hiding somewhere on the Central Coast ...

Inspector Chris Taylor said he could not confirm or deny claims by residents that nothing had been done in response to numerous complaints they made to police against the man, described as 175cms tall with a medium build and white thinning hair.

See also ninemsn video

Shot dead for complaining about loud music

Sydney Morning Herald
November 26, 2007

Police are hunting for a man after a father of four was shot dead outside his home in Woonona, north of Wollongong, after complaining about loud music on Saturday night.

Stephen Holmes, 41, a miner, was killed after complaining about the music coming from a house in his street.

Mr Holmes died on a neighbour's front lawn after being shot in the chest ...

The incident started about 9pm when Mr Holmes became concerned about loud music coming from the home of a neighbour, who lived diagonally across the road in Lassiter Avenue.

"There was loud music and his two youngest children couldn't sleep,'' a friend of the family said.

"He went out and asked the neighbour to turn the music down and then returned to the house.

"But the bloke stood outside on his front lawn and kept yelling out, 'Come out here, you dog.'

"Angela went to the phone and called the police and it was while she was on the phone she heard a gunshot.".

Two of Mr Holmes's daughters, Samantha, 16, and Juanita, 5, were also on the lawn.

"Samantha ran to her father's side and lay down beside him," the friend said.

Neighbours cared for Mr Holmes until police and ambulance arrived, but he died shortly after ...

The neighbour did not know what had led to the shooting but he confirmed Mr Holmes and the alleged killer had been involved in a dispute about five to six months ago that led to a verbal confrontation ...