Nanny regulations for us and orphanage regulations for the Government.

So Nanny can safely negotiate between floors in a house, part 3.9.1 of the Building Code of Australia sets out stairway design.

But Nannies must have changed. Remember the quaint steep half spiralling stair cases so common in the terrace houses around Sydney, Melbourne and even Adelaide and Perth. Introduced where Nannies came from in  London’s terraces.

Staircases that took up a lot less space. Space that was added to the tiny back yards so Nanny could swing a cat, or the children she was looking after.

Not now! The bureaucrats deemed these steep stairs too steep and too narrow for Nanny to negotiate. Now she can descend and rise a modern stair with grace and safety.

Not so when Nanny and her charges get on a double decker bus, or a double decker train. Space is at a premium, so the Bureaucrats say to hell with Nanny negotiating these stairs with grace and safety. These stairs don’t need to meet the same standards as a house. They are used by The Public and Nanny is public. There may be a few orphans created while the public learn how to quickly negotiate these stair before the bus leaves for the next stop. Or challenge Nanny to negotiate the stairs while the bus is bouncing along.

Maybe when the bureaucrats consider Nanny has had enough practice negotiating steep narrow winding bouncing stairs. The bureaucrats will relax the stair rules for houses and just maybe, with ever decreasing lot sizes, stairs won’t take up quite so much room and Nanny can again go outside and swing a cat.

Nanny doesn’t think so, not with the Nanny State regulatory bureaucrats we have been stuck with.

 

Tom Simmat

 

 

Tom Simmat & Associates Pty Limited (Architects) 

“The Brolgas” 6 Brolga Place Belrose NSW 2085

Phone: 9453 0022 mob: 0415975423

Tom Simmat Board of Architects of NSW Registration No 4392