Noisy air-con puts Sydney woman in court

Daily Telegraph
August 20, 2007

REPLACING her old air conditioner with a reverse cycle unit has landed Dragica Koceva in court after the western Sydney resident failed to comply with a noise control notice issued by Fairfield council.

Mrs Koceva, 51, of St Johns Park, said she has been victimised because she uses her air conditioner.

''This is ridiculous. I feel like a criminal, they made me feel like I did something wrong,'' Mrs Koceva told The Daily Telegraph.

''I have lived 20 years in Australia and suddenly I have to go to court because I'm using my air conditioner ...

Mrs Koceva said since a neighbour made the complaint about her $990 air conditioner, she has spent at least $400 to modify the noise level to suit council standards ...

A council officer is expected to come out and test the air conditioner noise levels again this week. ''I don't think it's too loud,'' Ms Koceva said ...

Ms Koceva's case highlights a growing problem _ burgeoning numbers of noise complaints to local councils in response to a trend for larger, reverse cycle air conditioner units. Manly council's manager for regulatory services, Mark Pearson said the trend for larger homes had meant consumers were now installing commercial-scale reverse cycle climate control units.

''We get between 10 and 13 complaints a week about air conditioner noise,'' Mr Pearson said ...

Figures for air conditioner noise complaints from Blacktown council showed complaints have increased by 25 per cent in five years.

City of Sydney council said noisy air conditioners accounted for roughly 10 per cent of its more than 1000 noise complaints in the last calender year ...

'You try to keep them at least three metres from the property's boundary,'' he said. Ms Koceva meanwhile has been ordered to attend Fairfield Local Court next month.

QLD: Quarries proposal rocks quiet country surrounds

Daily Mercury, 16.08.2007

IN the quiet surrounds of Palmyra, west of Mackay, residents fear a proposal to mine three quarries will disrupt the rural peace and stir up dust on the country roads.

During a meeting of Mackay City Council yesterday no decision was made on whether to approve the three quarries off Bells Road, just past the Mac Speedway and Palmyra drag race track.

The applicant, Ken Vella, has already indicated blasting won't be used but that promise has failed to placate the 24 residents in the cane farming district who signed a petition earlier this year ...

Cr George Christensen, who represents the area, said residents' greatest fear was potential noise and dust from trucks rumbling up and down what he said was an already sub-standard road.

To access the quarries, trucks would have to travel along a section of Bells Road shared by locals and traffic from the racetracks nearby ...

The application is expected to come before council again.

SA: Early birds survive roasting

Adelaide Now

August 17, 2007 02:15am

A MOVE by two councillors on Eyre Peninsula to ban roosters from towns in the area has been rejected by their colleagues.

A motion by councillors Laurette Waddell-Smith and Robert Lawrie that the council impose a by-law to ban roosters in towns in the council area was rejected at Tumby Bay's council meeting on Monday night.

The council had received a complaint from a ratepayer about noise from a neighbouring property, which housed several roosters.

Tumby Bay mayor Graeme Stirling said the council could invoke Section 254 of the Local Government Act, which gave it the power to make an order against the owner of noisy animals ...

"We have here a town where more than 50 per cent of people are aged over 65, and they don't want their sleep interrupted at 2.30 or 3 o'clock in the morning."

NSW: Highway upgrade downgrading lives

Lismore Northern Star
16.08.2007 By HELEN JACK

GRAEME MILLER and wife Margit are counting the cost in lost value to their home from construction of the new Pacific Highway at Ocean Shores.

Their home overlooks a section of the upgraded highway from Brunswick Heads to Yelgun which opened on July 11. And the Millers are not alone. The new highway is causing sleepless nights for hundreds of people.

Two hundred local residents packed the Ocean Shores Country Club's main auditorium on Tuesday night to describe to RTA representatives how traffic noise is robbing them of sleep, and impacting on their health and wallets.

One Ocean Shores woman told the gathering she had resorted to sleeping pills to get to sleep.

Others, constantly woken during the night by trucks running over ripple strips, said they had given up trying to sleep, preferring to get up and pursue hobbies or work to pass the time until dawn ...

Residents living five kilometres from the highway said they were experiencing noise levels never heard before the highway opened.

RTA Pacific Highway general manager Bob Higgins told the meeting sound testing near the highway would not start until October when all work was finished.

"It's important for us to understand if (the noise) is coming from the road surface or the ripple strips," he said.

Mr Higgins' response was referred to as 'unsatisfactory' and many considered the meeting was enough public consultation with the RTA to justify approaching the director-general.

MP Don Page said he would make representations to the NSW Minister for Roads Eric Roozendaal on behalf of residents.

Gold Coast: Clubs fail noise and light safety

15Aug07 goldcoast.com.au

GOLD Coast nightclubs are likely to be told to turn their music down and their lights up because of serious concerns about health and safety.

A Liquor Licensing source told The Gold Coast Bulletin the organisation had received a report on excessive noise levels at Gold Coast nightclubs highlighting 'real concerns' staff and patrons could end up with permanent hearing damage.

Tests have shown many of our nightclubs frequently exceed 110 decibels which overseas studies have shown can damage hearing after 15 minutes exposure a day ...

The police report has recommended nightclubs operate at a maximum level of 96dB.

"The report explained there are accepted medical studies that have been available for some time from the UK showing that three out of four nightclubbers are at risk of permanent hearing damage." said the source.

"Many of these nightclubbers are reporting symptoms that could lead to incurable tinnitus (continual ringing in the ear) or premature deafness.

"(The report) also touched on some problems encountered by staff and police at some Gold Coast nightclubs with not being able to communicate instructions to patrons because of the extremely loud noise." ...

VIC: Driving us deaf

Herald Sun

Peter Rolfe, August 12, 2007

PULSATING car stereos are blasting Melbourne with noise louder than a jet engine.

More than rocking the suburbs, music from some cars annoys homeowners, shopkeepers, pedestrians and causes hearing damage ...

The low-frequency noise they emit shakes windows, rattles teeth, causes nausea and can damage organs.

Sound expert Graham Murphy said noise pollution was more than a nuisance.

"It can make you physically ill," he said.

Car audio specialist Angelo Di Donato said volumes had been clocked as high as 164.8 decibels.

Most of the cars causing a nuisance around Melbourne played music at between 135 and 140 decibels ...

"The louder, the better," he said. "My speakers can be heard two blocks away." ...

NSW Ulladulla: Shed 'inappropriate'

Milton-Ulladulla Times
08 August 2007

A MEN'S Shed, planned for the grounds of the Milton-Ulladulla Baptist Church, is inappropriate according to neighbouring residents.

Opponents of the workshop support the need for such a facility in the district, but believe it would be better suited to an industrial or commercial area, rather than a residential estate in Narrawallee ...

The project is part of the national Men's Shed network and will provide an opportunity for local men to work on timber and metal projects for local charities and community groups, while fostering men's health and providing a meeting place seven days a week ...