As election looms, SA’s Labor Government refuses to reveal position on firearms laws

The South Australia Labor Government must openly declare its firearm policies ahead of the 21 March state election, say shooters who fear it is plotting to follow in WA and NSW’s footsteps on firearm restrictions.

While other parties including the Nationals and One Nation have made their public stance on firearms — and support for licensed firearms owners — clear, the ALP has not been so forthcoming.

Many shooters in the Festival State are understandably concerned that, if re-elected, the SA Labor Government plans to follow WA and NSW in adding restrictions on how many guns a licensee can own, pointlessly banning certain types of actions and introducing other emotionally based restrictions.

Shooters Union Australia vice-president David Brown said there were more 60,000 firearms licence holders in the state and voters had a right to know this information so they could make an informed decision at the ballot box.

“It’s time for the ALP to put their cards on the table,” Mr Brown said.

“Everyone else has — One Nation and the Nationals have come out with their firearms policy, and the SA Liberals support individual freedoms and personal responsibility, but the SA ALP are suspiciously quiet on the subject of firearms.

“Labor appear to be hiding their firearms policy, refusing to say whether they back licensed, responsible firearms users and will stop punishing them for criminal actions they had nothing to do with, or whether they are supporting a gun ‘buyback’ and plan to forcibly confiscate the valuable property of tens of thousands of South Australians.”

Mr Brown said both the South Australian Premier and the ALP needed to be completely transparent with voters about their firearms plans post-election.

“We will not accept a repeat of the situation at the last state election where the ALP did a shady backroom deal with the Greens, didn’t tell anyone, and then used that deal as their justification to ban bowhunting,” he said.

“We haven’t forgotten about that little stunt, and neither has the rest of South Australia’s outdoor recreation community either.”