A formal warning has been issued by Consumer Affairs Victoria (CAV) to a Queensland gun shop for advertising items banned in the southern state but legal everywhere else in Australia.
The warning has reignited a debate over government over-reach, with questions being asked about the ability or appropriateness of one state trying to dictate what a business in another can advertise for sale.
Townsville-based Pagan Firearms received an official warning notice under the Victorian Infringements Act 2006 relating to the alleged offence of offering machetes for sale via its website, when machetes (and the sale thereof) were subject to an interim ban in Victoria at the time of the alleged offence in mid-August.
Pagan Firearms is based in the Queensland city of Townsville, where machetes are legally available for sale to adults.
The shop’s website, which has advertised machetes for at least 15 years, contains no mention of Victoria or specific offers to sell machetes to people in Victoria.
Owner Anthony Pagan said he initially thought the letter — which was received by his accountant — had been sent in error, but quickly ascertained it was serious and immediately contacted CAV to try to sort out the issue.
However, Mr Pagan says after numerous attempts to get hold of someone to discuss the issue, he was told his only option was to appeal the warning via the official appeal process, which has since been initiated.
“We’re not going to accept guilt when we haven’t done anything wrong,” he said.
“Because we have to adhere to a high standard of being fit and proper people as part of our compliance, we don’t want to have any blemishes against our name or anything that could be used later on in a fit-and-proper person test.”
Mr Pagan also confirmed they had not sold any machetes to Victoria and had not received any inquiries from potential customers in Victoria.
He said there were multiple processes in place which would ensure no machetes would be shipped to people living in Victoria.
Mr Pagan also said it was ridiculous and impractical to argue that an item banned in Victoria would be available to someone in that state just because it was advertised on the internet.
“It’s the world-wide web, not the Victoria-wide web,” he said.
In his official appeal, Mr Pagan pointed out that beyond being based in Queensland and complying with Queensland’s laws, it was not reasonable for a business in North Queensland to be aware of the intricacies of laws in Victoria relating to an item which had been banned in that state with almost no notice, and to which no information regarding the banning had been officially provided to their business.
The appeal also noted Pagan Firearms had never been contacted by CAV before, even in an informal capacity, and further stated he believed the compliance and enforcement officer who issued the warning had been “overzealous in his application of enforcement measures to address perceived non-compliance” and, having been made aware of the error, “refused to de-escalate the situation despite repeated attempts by Pagan Firearms to do so”.
Ultimately, Mr Pagan said he thought CAV needed to be pulled into line and get its priorities in order.
“I think it’s over-reach,” he said. “They should be working on the problems in their own back yard instead of worrying about what North Queensland gun dealers are doing.”
Shooters Union president Graham Park described the situation as a pointless and counterproductive waste of public resources by Victoria.
“If I didn’t know any better I’d say CAV was attempting to become stars of the next Saturday Night Live parody with their stupidity,” he said.
“I cannot even begin to imagine the arrogance needed to not only think Victoria’s state laws apply to a business 2500km away across two state borders, but that the correct way to handle their concerns was a formal legal warning instead of a friendly email.”
“You’d almost think someone at CAV didn’t bother to check where Townsville actually was, except their own paperwork shows they were well aware it was in Queensland.”
He said as ridiculous as the situation was, it showed a growing prevalence of government over-reach and the fact the authorities were getting too comfortable with their power.
“It’s part of a wider pattern we’re seeing around the country, with the authorities increasingly adopting a dictatorial, heavy-handed approach to issues which previously would be ignored or could be sorted out via an informal chat.
“Critically, we’re also seeing a refusal by the authorities to acknowledge when they’ve gotten it wrong. You only have to look at Western Australia to see how that’s playing out.”
The situation has attracted a considerable amount of ire, directed at Victoria, with a substantial amount of online commentary to the effect that the Victorian authorities should pull their heads in, and questioning how anyone thought sending formal warnings to businesses operating completely legally in a different state was a good idea in the first place.
Interestingly, while Victoria’s ban on machetes was initially planned to be a complete ban, there are now two governor-in-council exemptions in effect which allow machetes to be owned for agricultural and horticultural purposes and for Traditional, Historical, Cultural Significance, or Other Exemption purposes.
Sporting Shooter has made inquiries into the legality of one state trying to enforce its own laws regarding the advertising of goods on a retailer located in a different state, and is awaiting a response.
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