❓ Hon Rick Mazza questions the Attorney General regarding the review of the Firearms Act 1973 by the Law Reform Commission of WA, focusing on the terms of reference, commencement date, and public consultation. The Attorney General provides details on the terms of reference and confirms the review's preliminary stages.
AnsweredQoN 361Legislative Council
QuestionView source ↗
FIREARMS
ACT — LAW REFORM COMMISSION REVIEW
361. Hon RICK MAZZA to the
Attorney General:
My question is in regard to the proposed review of the
Firearms Act 1973 by the Law Reform Commission of WA.
(1) Is the
formulation of the terms of reference the responsibility of the Minister for
Police or the Attorney General?
(2) Have the terms of reference been
formulated, and —
(a) if so, what are they; and
(b) if not, why not?
(3) As Hansard shows that the Minister for
Police advised the Legislative Assembly on 28 November 2013 that the review ''will
commence on or before 1 March 2014'', can the minister confirm that it
has in fact commenced?
(4) When will stakeholders and
members of the public be invited to make submissions?
ACT — LAW REFORM COMMISSION REVIEW
361. Hon RICK MAZZA to the
Attorney General:
My question is in regard to the proposed review of the
Firearms Act 1973 by the Law Reform Commission of WA.
(1) Is the
formulation of the terms of reference the responsibility of the Minister for
Police or the Attorney General?
(2) Have the terms of reference been
formulated, and —
(a) if so, what are they; and
(b) if not, why not?
(3) As Hansard shows that the Minister for
Police advised the Legislative Assembly on 28 November 2013 that the review ''will
commence on or before 1 March 2014'', can the minister confirm that it
has in fact commenced?
(4) When will stakeholders and
members of the public be invited to make submissions?
AnswerView source ↗
I thank the honourable member for some notice of this question.
(1) It is the
Attorney General who provides terms of reference to the Law Reform Commission
of Western Australia.
(2) (a) Yes.
They are, first, that the Law Reform Commission of Western Australia provide
advice on, and recommend, appropriate legislative and/or procedural changes
with regard to the licensing and storage of firearms, the definitions and
categorisation of firearms, and the effects of changes in firearm technology,
incorporating national initiatives where appropriate; second, that the
commission provide advice on and recommend appropriate legislative changes
regarding penalties for firearm offences, and in so doing, consider consistency
with penalties in other Australian states and territories; third, review any
relevant issues arising from the recent ''Operation Unification'',
the Auditor General's reports on firearms licensing, the Joint Standing
Committee on Delegated Legislation's sixty-eighth report, ''Explanatory
Report in relation to the Firearms Amendment Regulations 2013'', and any
other relevant parliamentary inquiry; and lastly, provides advice on any other
relevant matters.
(b) Not applicable.
(3) The terms of
reference were provided to the Law Reform Commission on 24 February 2014 and I
understand that some preliminary scoping work has been undertaken.
(4) There will
be a public consultation process. However, the time frame for this has not yet
been determined.
(1) It is the
Attorney General who provides terms of reference to the Law Reform Commission
of Western Australia.
(2) (a) Yes.
They are, first, that the Law Reform Commission of Western Australia provide
advice on, and recommend, appropriate legislative and/or procedural changes
with regard to the licensing and storage of firearms, the definitions and
categorisation of firearms, and the effects of changes in firearm technology,
incorporating national initiatives where appropriate; second, that the
commission provide advice on and recommend appropriate legislative changes
regarding penalties for firearm offences, and in so doing, consider consistency
with penalties in other Australian states and territories; third, review any
relevant issues arising from the recent ''Operation Unification'',
the Auditor General's reports on firearms licensing, the Joint Standing
Committee on Delegated Legislation's sixty-eighth report, ''Explanatory
Report in relation to the Firearms Amendment Regulations 2013'', and any
other relevant parliamentary inquiry; and lastly, provides advice on any other
relevant matters.
(b) Not applicable.
(3) The terms of
reference were provided to the Law Reform Commission on 24 February 2014 and I
understand that some preliminary scoping work has been undertaken.
(4) There will
be a public consultation process. However, the time frame for this has not yet
been determined.
Explore WA Government Data
Search the full archive in the free dashboard, or query programmatically via API.
Explore more
Government Gazette
Appointments, regulatory notices, planning changes.
Hansard
Debates, questions, speeches and sentiment.
Tabled Papers
Reports and documents tabled in Parliament.
Committees
Committee profiles and recent reports.
Regulations
Subsidiary legislation with filters and summaries.
Bills
Proposed laws and parliamentary progress.
Acts
Current WA legislation and summaries.
Explanatory Memoranda
Bills with EMs (text/PDF) available.
Members
MP profiles, party breakdown and rankings.
Pollie Rankings
Data-driven rankings across 19 categories.
Amendment Chains
Track how schemes and regulations evolve over time.