BANNING kids from ATVs has come from left field.
But despite questions over the Federal Government's power to force state worksafe authorities to implement the move, the ban appears to be inevitable.
The Federal Government, through Workplace Relations Minister Bill Shorten, has strongly signalled it was determined to make a move on ATV safety.
In that time all the debate has been on crush protection.
But the Government has not only come to realise it faced a stonewalling ATV sector staunchly opposed to roll bars, it had little support from its state counterparts.
But the manufacturers are clear on one thing - people under 16 years of age should not be riding ATVs.
This stance has given the Government the chance to push for an age ban the ATV manufacturers could not dispute.
But it's the practicality of any ban that will now be called into question. First is the policing. Any new law would come under workplace rules.
What is to stop a person aged under 16 riding an ATV recreationally on private land?
Will the law cover an adult carrying a child under 16 as a passenger?
Many dairy farmers will be unhappy with an under-16 ban.
Young people are valuable workers on dairy farms, with the ATV the preferred vehicle to round up cows. In many cases, a farm has an ATV mainly so the sons and daughters can operate them in preference to a full-size vehicle. Particularly in winter mud.
With the rise in ATVs accidents and related injuries and deaths, the Government was always going to do something.
And with its penchant for the path of least resistance, the age ban was a prime candidate.
It may seem unfair. It will make working life difficult. It will be difficult to police. But farmers and their families soon may have no choice but to accept any new law and adapt.
That, at least, is one thing farmers have become adept at.
