NSW: Noise crackdown proposed

Tougher restrictions on neighbourhood noise could soon be introduced by the New South Wales Government.

A number of proposals are being considered by the Government, including plans to crack down on residents who play loud music on weeknights and owners of 'hotted up' cars.

The minister assisting the Environment Minister, Verity Firth, says there is a lot of support in the community for stricter rules:

"One of the proposed changes is to adjust to 10pm the time to which noise from musical instruments and sound systems in residential areas can be heard on weeknights," she said.

"This was something that was supported by 85 per cent of the consultation that we did.

"It is something that we're really looking at through this noise regulation review."

Ms Firth says the proposals are designed to make neighbourhood life more pleasant.

"We're determined to give the community a say in how the Government can help make their neighbourhoods more peaceful, but we still want to take a commonsense approach," she said.

"We want to balance the rights of property owners to enjoy their property, but also with the need to maintain peaceful and harmonious neighbourhoods."

The New South Wales police union says existing laws about neighbourhood noise need to be better defined.

The New South Wales Government plans to make changes to the State's Noise Control Regulations, which it says would mean residents would have to turn down load music by 10 o'clock on weeknights instead of midnight.

The police union's vice president, Sergeant Scott Webber, says that police can act at any time if the music is considered offensive.

"It'd just be better if it's more defined and I think the public out there need to know it as well," he said.

"At the present time if we turn up to a job a lot of people say 'I can have the music up to 12 o'clock or 10 o'clock'.

"That's not actually true, it can be offensive at any time."

A Sydney mayor says the proposals do not go far enough.

The Mayor of Manly, Peter McDonald, says the restrictions should apply on weekends as well.

"I'm not sure why you wouldn't apply it seven days a week," he said.

"I mean people do sleep seven nights a week, not just five, so I think it would be reasonable to do that.

"If anything it's often a lot worse at weekends because that's the time that people decide they're going to party on."

The changes would also require so called "car hoons" to have noise dampening devices permanently fitted to their cars.

ABC News