The SSAA has published a video that provides the best explanation and overview of the new commonwealth firearms legislation we’ve come across to date, detailing what the laws entail, the questions that remain unanswered and what you can do to help fight them.
SSAA National CEO Tom Kenyon says one of the biggest concerns is that the federal government is involving itself more than ever in the process of firearms importations, requiring additional steps and certification for pistol imports, for example.
He begins by outlining how the legislation will enable a buyback of firearms, but says the scope of it was “very broad”.
“It didn’t specify an amount, and it didn’t specify what would and what wouldn’t be bought back,” he says.
“There will be a national cabinet meeting and they will try and come up with a national approach.
“Queensland, Northern Territory [and Tasmania] oppose it. They’re not interested in being involved at all.
“South Australia has given in principle support. Victoria is doing a review. Western Australia’s interested.”
NSW is also likely to be involved in a buyback.
Mr Kenyon warns that there is no guarantee the buyback will pay fair values or compensation, and that Labor and the Greens knocked back a proposed amendment that would have ensured it did.
He discusses the good and the concerning aspects of the legislation’s attempts to ensure better intelligence gathering and sharing about people who should not have a firearms licence.
As for firearms that are banned from import, Mr Kenyon clarifies the fact that rifles and shotguns with lever- or button-release actions may still be imported and sold in states where they are approved for a licence category.
“In the meeting that we had with the minister, he did say that where those firearms are still legal, they will still be allowed to be imported and distributed to holders of A and B class licenses where that’s legal in their state,” he said.
“So, Victoria, South Australia, Tasmania, Northern Territory, ACT, where those actions like leaver release, button release or straight pull are allowed, you’ll still to be able to get them.”
WA and NSW have recategorised such firearms to C and D, and they will be available to those licence holders.
There is still some question about whether pump-action rifles will be caught up in the description of “linear action” repeating firearms under the new laws, and Mr Kenyon says he suspects the definition will not apply to them. However, this remains to be seen.
Magazine capacity limits are also unclear and require clarification, he says.
He goes on to explain the more complicated process for pistol imports and points out that while it won’t directly affect shooters, it may slow down imports. He spells out why the government made the changes and why they were unnecessary.
The video covers the last-minute changes made to the bill that took out potential criminalisation of accessing reloading data online, and removed clothing from import restrictions.
“It made them look stupid and they realised it was stupid and they pulled it out,” My Kenyon says.
He describes how the states are the next battleground now that the federal legislation is in place, but that NSW and WA have already changed their laws.
With Queensland, Tasmania and NT signalling a lack of intention to follow the rest, SSAA will turn its attention to Victoria, SA and ACT.
“South Australia and Victoria have elections this year and that means we can start to really put some pressure on them,” he says.
“And we will be seeking your help. Again, remember that writing letters, ringing your MPs, all of these things are really valuable.
“What makes the SSAA influential is not me going and talking to ministers. It’s the fact that I’m doing it on behalf of hundreds of thousands of our members nationally.”
The bottom line is that politicians want votes, and so large grassroots campaigns have an influence on them — something Mr Kenyon knows well as a former politician.
He urges all shooters to contact their MPs to remind them about our opposition to unnecessary firearms laws.
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