Jacinda Ardern plans to raise firework concerns with local councils after an "intense" Guy Fawkes night she described as sounding like a "warzone".
"Last night in Auckland... it was just something else," the Prime Minister told More FM's The Breakfast Club on Wednesday morning.
"It was quite intense... At 9:30 I recorded a little snippet of it because it sounded like a warzone in Balmoral [a suburb in Auckland]."
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Ardern told More FM she plans to raise firework concerns with local councils and "have a bit of a conversation with them to see what their thoughts are".
"I'm just increasingly mindful of kids sleeping and of animals; but at the same time, clearly a lot of people love it," the Prime Minister said.
"But there's got to be some way we can just make sure people keep safe, but still have fun. But we haven't quite figured out what that solution is."
The Prime Minister has previously described fireworks as "a pain in the butt", telling The AM Show in 2017: "I do think we need to keep a watchful eye on whether or not it's costing us too much."
Ardern's latest concern followed a busy night for Fire and Emergency NZ with multiple fires breaking out across Auckland and images showing Mt Wellington in flames.
Fire and Emergency principal advisor Peter Gallagher told The AM Show 88 fireworks-related call outs were received in just 24 hours.
Ardern said she receives a lot of feedback from the public about fireworks, and has come to the conclusion that "people are divided".
More FM Breakfast Club host Lana Searle thanked the Prime Minister for "not being the fun police and wanting to look at all sides of the argument before you make a big call".
The sale of fireworks was restricted to just four days a year by the previous Labour-led Government in 2007. The purchasing age was also raised to 18, and the explosive power of fireworks was reduced.
The number of Fire and Emergency callouts has declined in recent years from 180 in the first five days of November 2015 to 111 in 2018.
But Auckland Council voted in February to take its opposition to private fireworks sales to the Government, following several fires started by fireworks during Guy Fawkes night last year.
Former Wellington Mayor Justin Lester told Newshub earlier this year he supported banning the private sale of fireworks, but councillors said they hadn't given it much thought.
National leader Simon Bridges said he does not support a ban.
Auckland's Tūpuna Maunga Authority said Tuesday night's fires were the "last straw".
"Having tried to work proactively with the public to care for the Maunga, sadly last night's [Tuesday] fires show more protections are required," said authority chair Paul Majurey.
The authority will now close all public access to maunga in Auckland at Guy Fawkes while fireworks are still available for public sale.
Newshub.
