The NSW Premier’s rushed and reactive legislation will create new problems without resolving the existing ones, the Shooting Industry Foundation of Australia (SIFA) said in a statement today.
SIFA criticised Premier Chris Minns for pushing for new laws before any investigation into this week’s Bondi Beach terrorist attack had been conducted.
“On multiple occasions since Sunday’s devastating attack, the NSW Premier has declined to answer certain questions on the basis that the ongoing investigation must be completed,” it said.
“However, the Government wants to change gun laws within days of the terrorist attack without answers from that same investigation.
“Knee-jerk reactions formed within hours of an event will not produce the required outcomes.”
SIFA made the same point that others have repeatedly made in the circumstances: that gun laws will not do anything to address the societal challenges of terrorism, extremist ideology and antisemitism.
It stated that police are required to not issue a firearms licence to someone not deemed a fit and proper person and that “provisions exist to allow police to act proactively where associations [of licence holders] raise legitimate concerns about risk, even if the licence holder themselves has not committed an offence” — a reference to the fact that in the father-son terrorist pair, one was licensed and the other had been investigated by ASIO for terrorist connections.
“Failing to confront the regulatory and operational breakdowns that led to Sunday’s tragic incident risks repeating the very mistakes that allowed it to occur,” the SIFA statement said.
“Lawful firearm ownership is not the cause of extremist violence. The focus must remain on proper enforcement of existing laws, robust licensing processes and addressing the deeper societal drivers that lead to acts of terror.
“Without addressing those failures, any response by the Premier will be fundamentally misdirected, leaving firearms in the hands of individuals who pose a genuine security threat and exposing the community to ongoing risk.”
“Rather than strengthening public safety, [the proposed] measures risk undermining it by diverting attention from enforcement, intelligence and regulatory failures that demand urgent correction.”
SIFA said Minns should also look at the lessons from WA’s poorly conceived new Firearms Act.
“As we have seen in Western Australia, rushed and poorly consulted reforms have led to a wide range of operational issues and elements being condemned by not only shooters but farming groups and doctors.”
SIFA has extensive experience with issues around firearms legislation, and has repeatedly called for evidence-based laws.
However, it has not been consulted by the Minns Government, which is writing its new legislation now with a promise that they will be “the toughest gun legislation in the country”.
The full statement is here.
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