This week Insights has searched the globe for the looniest legislation that our peers at home and abroad have conjured up to prove that legislation doesn’t always have to be dull.
1. Whatever gets (or doesn’t get) your goat – Melbourne
Melbourne is renowned for its hipster populace boasting vintage this and vintage that. But the Melbournian craze for the fashion and fixtures of an age gone by may have to stop at their choice in vehicles. Section 8(c) of the Summary Offences Act 1966 (Vic) makes it an offence for anyone to drive a dog or goat harnessed or attached to a vehicle in or through a public place. So if you must take your goat to brunch or a single origin organic coffee tasting, you may have to let it ride shotgun on your fixie or catch the train instead. It is, however, interesting to note that there is no section making it an offence to drive a dog or goat harnessed vehicle in private.
2. Fight for your right to party – Japan
If you thought Sydney’s lockout law were a step too far, think twice. In Japan, the Law on Control and Improvement of Amusement Business means that all clubs need a special dancing licence in order to allow patrons to dance on their premises. To obtain the licence, the main room must have 66 m2 of unobstructed floor space and must close before 1am. While the law was largely ignored for much of the 20th century, in an incident similar to that triggering Sydney’s lockout laws, a 2010 incident involving the death of a university student outside an Osaka club led to a massive crackdown. There is good news for partygoers in Japan, however, as the dancing ban is set to be lifted sometime next year.
3. The end of business at the front, party at the back – Iran
The Insights team is divided on this one, but Iran has made a very strong stance against what some deem to be a classic hairstyle. Whatever your thoughts may be on the business in the front and party in the back, the Iranian government is standing strong in their decision to ban the mullet. That’s right, in 2010 the Iranian government introduced a list of banned “decadent Western cuts” including the mullet, short spikes and ‘80s bangs. The style guide was part of a concerted effort on the part of the Iranian government to “confront Western cultural invasion”.
4. A prohibition against bending the space-time continuum – China
We in the Western world are die-hard fans of a good-old fashioned time travel flick. There’s a reason Back to the Future had not one but two sequels. But as it turns out, the Chinese government aren’t huge fans of Doctor Who or Marty McFly. In 2011, the Chinese Government decided to block all movies about time travel given the likelihood of China’s history being disrespected should writers take artistic liberties with the retelling historical events. The State Administration for Radio, Film & Television is hoping to discourage these writers from treating “serious history in a frivolous way”.
5. Die another day – England
For our final weird law we turn to the nation that gave Australia its laws before our own parliament even existed: England. In the very same houses of parliament where white settler Australia was granted its independence, it is illegal to die. This is due to the fact that Parliament is technically to this day a royal palace and as such anyone who dies within is entitled to a state funeral and a coroner’s inquest by the Coroner of the Queens Household.