Shooters Union Australia has criticised the Western Australian Government for providing a false narrative about its dictatorial changes to the state’s firearms laws.
Earlier this week the Western Australian Government was spruiking its controversial “voluntary” buy-back, saying the deadline was the end of August and there were 70,000 “unnecessary” guns in the community which needed to be disposed of before the laws fully come into effect.
The prices offered under the buyback have been slammed as “akin to robbery”, valuing bespoke English hunting shotguns at a paltry $420 each and offering a mere $938 for brand-new centrefire hunting rifles.
Shooters Union Western Australia state advocate Steve Harrison said the way the entire law change had been conducted was nothing less than dictatorial, and said it was disgusting the Premier and Police Minister continued to push a demonstrably false public-safety narrative surrounding the new laws.
“Police Minister Papalia has made reference to removing ‘unnecessary’ firearms from WA, but seems completely unaware that, legally speaking, there are zero unnecessary firearms in the state,” Mr Harrison said.
“Anyone acquiring a firearm must demonstrate a genuine need – not want, but actual need – for that gun. If that is satisfied, then they receive a licence for it. The decision has already been made by WA Police themselves: Every single registered firearm in WA is necessary.
“Papalia and his mates should not be allowed to gaslight anyone with this false narrative that the state is full of guns which are readily available to everyone.”
Mr Harrison said many of those affected by the law changes were going to be significantly out of pocket, particularly from the inadequate “stealback” compensation, and he fully expected legal action to be forthcoming as a result.
“WA firearm owners are almost certainly reviewing their options to fight for fair compensation when the seizures start,” Mr Harrison said.
“I believe a class action lawsuit is inevitable at some point, particularly given how licensed firearm owners view what is essentially forced, poorly compensated removal of their lawfully held private property purely because someone in the government doesn’t like their sport.
“None of this process has been remotely fair, democratic or conducted in good faith, and I think there are a lot of questions about it all that need serious answers.”
The changes to the gun laws, which Sporting Shooter has covered at length, were rammed through by the ALP Government, and include limits on the number of guns people can own, mandatory health checks and other measures.
A petition signed by 32,000 Western Australians protesting the changes was thrown in the bin by that same Government, and the major shooter representative organisations have reported their attempts at objecting to the laws were ignored, with what little consultation the Government undertook said to be little more than dictating to shooter representatives what the laws would be.
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