General News
8 July, 2025
Border operation seizes 70kg of fireworks near Camooweal
The annual sting on the back of "cracker night" in the Northern Territory was a success.
More than 70 kilograms of illegal fireworks have been seized at the Queensland-Northern Territory border.
Operation Bright Sky is run annually by Resources Safety and Health Queensland following “cracker night” in the Northern Territory, with assistance from police in Queensland and the NT.
During cracker night each year, anyone in the NT is allowed to detonate fireworks without the need for a licence or specialist training, however, leftover fireworks are often brought into Queensland illegally following the event.
This year’s joint operation saw a decrease in the number of fireworks seized at the border, after a campaign to spread awareness about the penalties and dangers.
The maximum penalty for possessing illegal fireworks in Queensland is six months imprisonment, or a fine of $66,760, however there is no penalty if illegal fireworks are handed over willingly.
RSHQ’s chief inspector of explosives Hermann Fasching said the goal of the operation was not to punish people, but to keep the community safe.
“We saw people seriously burned and fires started as a result of people using fireworks in the Northern Territory last week without a licence, and we don’t want to see similar injuries or incidents here in Queensland,” he said.
“Even some of the travellers surrendering their fireworks at the border told us they were injured when trying to use the explosives during cracker night.
“Fireworks in untrained hands have also led to permanent scarring and blindness in recent years in Queensland.”
The surrendered fireworks from Operation Bright Sky are taken to an RSHQ explosives reserve and destroyed.