General News
26 January, 2026
FLASHBACK: January 22 1976
Residents of North West Victoria will be greatly inconvenienced by Government legislation on noise pollution which comes into force on February 1.
Already, Mr Ken Wright, MLC for North-West Province, has stated he is unhappy about certain regulations contained in the Act.
“I certainly do not agree with the times set down for the use of motor mowers at weekends,” Mr Wright said.
“As it stands a motor mower can only be used between the hours of 9am and 8pm and in our climate in Summer that’s the hottest part of the day,” he said.
Mr Wright said that he would like to see the hours lengthened by one hour in the morning and an hour at night.
The restrictions on motor mowers apply only to residential premises and where it can be proven they are making unreasonable noise.
Mr Wright said that during a Summer heat wave most people would either mow their lawns either early in the morning or late at night.
During weekdays motor mowers are restricted to the hours 7am to 8pm.
Amplified musical instruments are also covered by legislation on noise pollution.
On weekdays the hours set down are from 7am till 11pm and on weekends from 9am to 11pm.
Noise pollution can be determined in three ways — by persons affected by the noise, police, or a council officer assigned for the task.
Mr Wright has already raised several matters regarding the legislation with the Premier Mr Hamer.
The legislation is expected to mainly affect only town dwellers.
Mr Wright said that the legislation was obviously a set of guidelines and he would not be at all surprised to see changes incorporated within the first 12 months of the regulations operating.
But the Noise Pollution Control Act makes no attempt to deal with barking dogs.
Difficult
Mr Wright believes that this should have been covered in the legislation although he admits that it is difficult to control a barking dog.
“In these circumstances I feel it should be the duty of the owner to move the offending animal to another location,” Mr Wright said.
Mr Milton Whiting, MLA for Mildura, also stated yesterday he was unhappy about the legislation.