Set our drones free!

Eric Crampton blogs:

Well, this is the dumbest thing I’ve heard in the past… half year?

Steve Moore, from the Civil Aviation Authority was on Morning Report describing the new rules on flying drones. Bottom line: unless your local government has said it’s ok to fly a remote control helicopter in your park, it’s forbidden. He claimed that it’s all about the safety.

Susie Ferguson, the Radio NZ host, had a few great questions, like why not also ban kids from playing cricket in parks since cricket balls are hard and also can hurt people. She also asked whether this wasn’t just killjoy stuff.

Look, National. You got elected in 2008 on an anti-nanny-state ticket. Now you’ve even got Radio New Zealand’s morning report surprised at what a bunch of killjoy plonkers you’ve turned into. What’s wrong with you?

To be fair, I’m not sure this is as a result of a Government decision, probably more the law not keeping up with technology.

But I agree with the sentiment – needing permission to fly a toy helicopter by remote control is ridiculous. You just need a general rule at best to say do it safely.