Firework row ignites as seizure threatens cracker night

Sparks are igniting between two Australian jurisdictions after more than 100 tonnes of fireworks bound for freedom celebrations were seized.

For one day a year Northern Territorians are permitted to buy and set off their own fireworks to celebrate Territory Day.

But NSW authorities risk putting a dampener on the 2025 festivities after seizing more than 100 tonnes of the explosives bound for the jurisdiction.

In the NT fireworks have become synonymous with the day, which marks the anniversary of self-government in the territory in 1978.

From 6pm on July 1, Territorians are legally allowed to set them off for a five-hour period.

Shipments of unauthorised fireworks entered NSW and were seized by the state's workplace safety watchdog, a NSW government spokesman said.

"While use of these fireworks is legal in the NT, they are not legal to sell and use in NSW," he said in a statement.

The Northern Territory's chief minister has taken up the plight of revellers directly with her NSW counterpart after being informed of the stalled shipment.

"I have spoken with NSW Premier Chris Minns and alerted him to the importance of the shipment as part of Territory Day celebrations," Lia Finocchiaro said.

"We will work with NSW to make sure the fireworks are in the Territory, ready to go for 1 July."

The fireworks would need appropriate authorisation from SafeWork NSW and its Queensland and South Australian counterparts to allow the explosives to transit to the NT.

The NSW government is willing to grant the necessary authorisations if the other states' bodies agree to do so.

A spokesman for SafeWork SA said it had not received any formal request for the fireworks to enter South Australia en route to the NT.

"We'll assess the application if one is received," the spokesman said.

Queensland authorities have been approached for comment.

"In the circumstances that the fireworks reach the NT, SafeWork NSW will work with WorkSafe NT to ensure that none of the fireworks that transit through NSW return to NSW," the NSW government spokesman said.

Revellers around the territory and beyond come together to mark the anniversary, igniting thousands of tonnes of fireworks on the day the territory relaxes restrictions on their use.

In 2024, a 23-year-old man severed his arm and a 58-year-old man suffered an injury to his groin in a fireworks mishap, among a series of Territory Day incidents.