Bus115 First Semester 2021

Statutory Interpretation Question for AROPA

Case scenario

When the Fire Safety Act 2018 (the Act) was introduced into Parliament by the Minister of Housing, she made the following statement:

"There is an urgent need to tighten up fire safety regulations for modern buildings. With new building techniques and materials there is a need to have laws that reflect modern building practice and how modern buildings are used. Business owners will be required to take more responsibility for the safety of those on their premises. Fire prevention is an integral part of that obligation.

I would rather be criticised for introducing strict legislation that requires building owners to introduce fire prevention measures than find myself in the position of offering condolences and comfort to the families of victims of fires which might have been prevented."

The Act contains the following provisions:

Section 2(1)

Fire precautions means the provision of firefighting equipment including fire extinguishers, water sprinkler systems or any other means of fighting fires.

Section 2(2)

Premises means shops, restaurants, malls and any other place of business.

Section 10

Every device that has a naked flame must not be used in premises unless there are reasonable fire precautions in place.

Section 12

Every owner, operator, manager or person in charge of premises who allows an activity in breach of section 10 commits an offence which is punishable by a fine not exceeding $10,000.

Nelson Bloggs runs a coffee shop in Devonport. There is an outside garden area in front of the shop where smokers can drink their coffee and smoke cigarettes. Nelson hands out free cigarette lighters to his smoking customers. The smokers frequently use them to light their cigarettes in the garden area.

Required:

Does Nelson need to provide fire-fighting equipment for his garden area?

In your answer, you are required to refer to judicial approaches to statutory interpretation, intrinsic and extrinsic aids for interpretation, and any relevant principles/rules of statutory interpretation.