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.