WA TV campaign tells Papalia to “get another hobby” instead of persecuting shooters

The Western Australian Firearms Community Alliance (WAFCA) has launched a TV advertising campaign attacking to the state’s Police Minister, Paul Papalia, who told shooters to “get another hobby”.

“The Minister’s cheap throwaway quip telling firearm users to ‘get another hobby’ is utterly disrespectful,” WAFCA spokesperson Paul Fitzgerald said. 

“We are standing up to the WA Labor Government and their Police Minister’s off-target rewrite of the Firearms Act.”

The ad, which was first aired today, turns the comment back on Papalia, urging the state’s voters to “tell him to get another hobby” other than persecuting shooters and other outdoor enthusiasts. 

Papalia and senior WA police have unveiled the national’s most onerous firearms legislation and are pushing it through without legitimate consultation, let alone any evidence that the new laws are necessary or beneficial. 

“Not one of the proposals in the Firearms Act Consultation paper, which was released in November last year, provides any evidence of how their legislation will lead to an improvement in public safety as they completely fail to address the real issues of illegal guns and firearm crime,” Mr Fitzgerald said.

Among other things, the laws will limit the number of firearms a person may own, introduce compulsory mental health checks and, according to Papalia, cut the number of firearms in the state by around a third.

He claims the measures will reduce firearm-related crime. 

Shooting Industry Foundation Australia CEO James Walsh called Papalia’s laws “lazy and ill thought”.

“They go after law-abiding citizens rather than criminals,” he said. “They will also see frontline police resources stretched, as they will be policing law-abiding shooters and conducting audits, rather than investigating criminals and crime.”

The WAFCA campaign makes the point that law-abiding firearm owners are not the problem that the laws are trying to address, and is urging shooters to “stand up for WA’s unique lifestyle”. 

“Tell the Government to target the real criminals who illegally use firearms, not responsible Western Australians,” Mr Fitzgerald said.