Rick Mazza asks about the impact of COVID-19 on firearm licence holders needing club attendance. The Minister responds that police will assess individual cases and use discretion.

AnsweredQoN 283Legislative Council
Asked
31 March 2020
Portfolio
Police

QuestionView source ↗

CORONAVIRUS —
SHOOTING SPORTS AND FIREARMS INDUSTRY
283. Hon RICK MAZZA to the minister representing the
Minister for Police:
In response to the COVID-19 crisis,
shooting clubs have cancelled events and competitions to protect members and
the community from the spread of the disease. Firearm licence holders, whose
genuine reason to hold a licence is in relation to their membership of a shooting
club, are required to attend a minimum number of club events each year to comply with conditions of their licence to
maintain it. With the closure of club events, that is now not possible.
(1) Has this issue been brought to
the minister's attention?
(2) If yes to
(1), will the requirement for firearms licence holders to meet the minimum
number of club attendances each year in order to retain their licence be
suspended?
(3) If yes to
(2), will WA Police Force notify shooting clubs to advise them that the
requirements will be suspended during the COVID-19 crisis?

AnswerView source ↗

I thank the honourable member for
some notice of the question. The following answer has been provided by the
Minister for Police. The Western Australia Police Force advises as follows.
(1)–(3) Pursuant to the Firearms Act 1973, clubs have been
advised by police that a requirement to shoot is a 12-month assessment
and that a member can shoot later in the year to gain that proficiency. If a shooting
club member cannot meet requirements for a particular reason, police will
assess, and, if reasonable, will not take any action under their discretionary
powers.

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