After months of concern about ever-changing firearms legislation around Australia since the Bondi terror attacks, SSAA this week released a concise summary of how things stand now in each state and territory.
SSAA Inc CEO Tom Kenyon outlines the current status of legislation and regulations in the country, points out what may change in the near future, and provides guidance about what shooters can do to affect outcomes — including pointing to resources available to assist them.
He says the Northern Territory and Queensland have “done very well,” with no significant changes to laws and strong resistance to any change from the incumbent governments.
“South Australia and Victoria are looking like they may hold the line,” he says. “Tasmania and ACT are in the mix, right now, and we all need to take some action.”
Mr Kenyon’s summary of the aftermath of the recent SA election paints a good picture of how and why the Labor Party generally is under threat, at least partly because of the very badly written, knee-jerk firearms legislation introduced by the federal and NSW parties after the Bondi terror attack.
One Nation has seen a sharp rise in support since then, and the SA election was the first test of how that might play out with voters.
Mr Kenyon says the impact of One Nation’s rising popularity was, among others things, to slash margins in previously safe Labor seats.
“They’re no longer safe seats,” he says, “and that was very shocking for the Labor party.”
He says One Nation has become “very dangerous for Labor”.
His state-by-state breakdown of the situation now is, in brief:
SOUTH AUSTRALIA: Before the recent election in SA, the Labor government wrote to SSAA stating it had no plans to change the state’s firearm legislation. Having won the election, the government still stands by the statement at this stage.
“At the moment, that’s a good thing,” Mr Kenyon says.
NEW SOUTH WALES: The post-Bondi legislation has been enacted and ownership limits are in place: 10 guns for primary producers and target shooters, 4 guns for recreational hunters and others. If you already own more than that, you can hang onto them for now, until the government announces how the next phase will be implemented.
In addition, NSW residents no longer have access to the state’s Civil Appeals Tribunal (NCAT), “which is unfair,” Mr Kenyon says.
“The rest is being negotiated,” he says, referring mainly to the regulations that are still being compiled.
AUSTRALIAN CAPITAL TERRITORY: Legislation to limit ownership (10 and 5, respectively) is currently before parliament, and Mr Kenyon suggests you write to your MP about it, urging you to “let them know you oppose limits, that’s there’s no link between the number of firearms someone owns and public safety.”
He says there are resources to help you do this on the SSAA website.
VICTORIA: Mr Kenyon discusses Victoria’s review of gun laws and the fact that the review has been completed but not yet released to the public. He says SSAA Victroia is “cautiously optimistic” that there may be no significant changes to the state’s gun laws, “but we’re waiting to see”.
He says November’s upcoming state election, and the difficult position Premier Jacinta Allen is in means she doesn’t need “any more enemies” and is “unlikely to pick a fight with shooters”.
TASMANIA: “Tasmania is in the balance,” Mr Kenyon says. The Liberal Government has already announced its intention to restrict straight-pull and button- or lever-release firearms, and run a limited buyback that appears to offer fair values or better.
However, he points out that Labor and the Greens will move to amend the legislation to include ownership limits.
He suggests residents write to Labor MPs to express their opposition and concern about limits.
“It’s really urgent in Tasmania that we get this done now,” he says, adding there are resources to help you do this on the SSAA website.
WESTERN AUSTRALIA: Nothing new here. It still has “probably the worst gun laws in the country” but the circumstances are now set, and any changes in the near future will be in how the regulations will be implemented — an ongoing issue more than a year after the legislation was enacted.
NORTHERN TERRITORY AND QUEENSLAND: There are no concerns for shooters in NT and Queensland.
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