A national firearms advocacy round-table led by the Shooting Industry Foundation of Australia (SIFA) met in Canberra again earlier this week, adding two new voices to the discussion.
The alliance, which includes Field and Game Australia, IPSC Australia, the National Rifle Association of Australia, SIFA, Shooters Union, Sporting Clays Australia, and SSAA welcomed the Australian Clay Target Association and the Australian Deer Association to its ranks.
The group was formed in May with a goal of presenting a unified front representing licensed firearms owners, hunters, businesses and the firearms industry to politicians and stakeholders.
The focus of this week’s meeting was on developing strategic objectives, starting with the alliance agreeing on a statement of principles to guide its work, along with continuing work on developing “a set of aligned policy positions backed by a clear strategic direction”.
SIFA CEO James Walsh said the alliance was a “game changer” for every law-abiding shooter in Australia, as well as the Australian shooting industry, and confirmed that the group would also be pushing for the reformation of a federal Firearms Advisory Council.
“I am thankful to all the national associations for coming together, once again in unity, to ensure our shooting sports have a bright future,” he said.
SSAA National CEO Tom Kenyon said his organisation was very happy to be involved with the alliance and its work securing better outcomes for the Australian firearm community.
“SSAA is very happy to be involved in any organisation that seeks to promote shooting and to defend the sport against misinformed opposition,” he said.
“We’re really looking forward to working with all the various members of this alliance.”
Shooters Union vice-president David Brown was also at the meeting, and echoed the commitment to working with other shooting groups to achieve better outcomes for the Australian shooting community.
“The meeting was very productive and collaborative – it was a good follow up to the one in May,” he said.
“We’ve got the two new groups on board and they are keen to join us collectively in working on issues affecting all shooters.
“Shooters Union is proud to be part of this – we’ve long said working together at federal level is a necessity and we’re pleased to be in such good company with our fellow shooting representative organisations.”
The alliance’s next meeting is set to take place in two months.
0 Comments