Apparently radio was all a-twitter the other day about barbecues being banned from high-rise balconies under the proposed new strata laws.

Of course, it is a load of baloney.  The law has always forbidden people from causing a nuisance to other residents and “smoke from smoking” has now been defined as an example of a nuisance “under certain circumstances”.

So very little has changed.  Smoke and smell from barbecues, especially those that aren’t properly cleaned between fry-ups, is disgusting and bloody annoying but it hasn’t yet been legally defined as a ‘nuisance’ which means something that harms you in some way.

I had a long and often heated discussion with Fair Trading policy wonks the day after the barbecue ban stories broke.  They insist that “smoke from smoking” means all smoke, including incense and, yes, barbecues.

And while they conceded that there is no clear-cut reference to barbecues “because it would exclude other causes of smoke” (and ‘smoke from smoking’ doesn’t?), the real thrust is in the proposed new standard by-laws.

OK, so let’s make this clear – by-laws, unlike strata law, are rules decided by the owners of a building.  They are optional and can’t supersede superior laws such as council planning regulations, anti-discrimination laws, local government laws or, indeed, the strata Act itself.

Yes, the majority of owners in the majority of new buildings will blindly adopt the new “standard” by-laws that, apparently, will include a by-law identifying “smoke drift” as a potential nuisance. Of course, all it takes is someone to stand up at the initial AGM of new strata blocks and say the by-law about smoke drift means barbecues could be banned and a majority of owners can vote it out.

Then there are the 75,000 existing strata schemes in NSW that already have their own by-laws most of which, I’m guessing, say nothing about smoke drift.  By the way, many schemes have by-laws banning barbecues completely for the simple reason that they stink out other apartments and have the potential to fill them with health-threatening smoke.

There are also existing laws in place that can prevent people from polluting their neighbours apartments with smoke.  So really, nothing has changed.

Why then, you have to ask, was the media fed a highly dubious line about burning sausages as the major element of far-reaching, society changing strata law reforms?

Could it have been a smokescreen to cover what sounds like a serious bust-up in the Liberal party over the forced sales legislations that will see 75 percent of owners able to sell their building to developers against the wishes of the other 25%?

It puts the distractions of “bread and circuses” in a whole new light.