Why should skating be a crime?
By Colin Salter
ALP government initiatives in NSW include "anti-gang" legislation which brands a group of three or more youths with "baseball caps on backwards" as a potential risk and initiates the idea of curfews after certain hours.
Section 633A of the Local Government Act was passed in April 1994. It states "a person who, in a public place, uses skating equipment so as to obstruct, annoy, inconvenience or cause danger to any other person in that place is guilty of an offence". Penalties include a maximum fine of $500, or confiscation of the skateboard, taking the actual cost closer to $750.
Following passage of this law, more than 1000 skateboarders took control of the Sydney city streets, proclaiming "Skateboarding is not a crime".
New legislation in May changed the definition of a "public place" to include beach frontages and some crown land. Council officers have been given increased powers to confiscate skateboards and demand the names of suspects.
The Roads and Traffic Authority has also banned skateboards on nearly all roads.
At major sites in Melbourne and Sydney, hand rails and bolts have been put in to prevent skaters utilising the area, increasing the risk of serious injuries.
These attacks on the recreational activities of young people are linked with a continuous push for young people to conform in their appearance. Young people are stereotyped according to the clothes they wear, the music they listen to and the activities they enjoy. In a society where young people strive to find there own identity they are constantly bombarded with images of what's "hip" or "cool".
Marketing companies and multinational fashion conglomerates have been in overdrive recently. The mobile phone is no longer the "in thing" for young people, succeeded by the pager. Companies such as Nike bombard young people with advertising statements like "If you're not there to win, you're a tourist". Young people have resorted to assault and murder in order to obtain a pair of these shoes so they can fit in.
Instead of restricting the rights of young people, the government should be providing more money for youth recreation. Alienation isn't solved by legislating young people out of public places and locking them at home.