Drivers who are caught throwing cigarettes out their car windows will be slapped with 10 demerit points and fined $11,000 under new laws in New South Wales.
The laws, announced on Thursday, will apply during total fire bans.
When there isn’t a total fire ban, drivers who toss lit cigarettes will be hit with five demerit points.
Passengers caught chucking cigarettes, however, will be fined just $660, with the fine doubled during total fire bans.
The new punishments – which are the harshest in Australia – were announced by NSW’s Minister for Police and Emergency Services David Elliott on Thursday, shortly after state Premier Gladys Berejiklian declared a state of emergency because of the bushfires.
‘We had an early start to the fire season this year, and just 19 days into summer, we’ve seen almost three million hectares burnt, more than 700 homes destroyed, and, tragically, six lives lost,’ Mr Elliott said.
‘Firefighters have been on the frontline fighting the blazes day and night and this kind of criminal foolishness will not be tolerated.’
More than 200 people have been caught committing the offence in the last year.
The bushfires have so far killed six people and nearly 800 homes have