❓ The Minister for Police outlines significant firearms reforms in WA, emphasizing public safety and introducing limits on gun ownership, addressing concerns raised by a gun lobby.
AnsweredQoN 74Legislative Assembly
QuestionView source ↗
FIREARMS REFORM
74. Mr Y. MUBARAKAI to the Minister for Police:
I
have a much more concerning question. I refer to the Cook Labor government's
historic reforms to Western Australia's outdated firearm laws.
(1) Can the
minister advise the house what these important reforms will mean for Western Australians?
(2) Can the minister outline to the
house how these reforms will prioritise and improve public safety?
74. Mr Y. MUBARAKAI to the Minister for Police:
I
have a much more concerning question. I refer to the Cook Labor government's
historic reforms to Western Australia's outdated firearm laws.
(1) Can the
minister advise the house what these important reforms will mean for Western Australians?
(2) Can the minister outline to the
house how these reforms will prioritise and improve public safety?
AnswerView source ↗
(1)–(2) I
thank the member for his question. Today, we introduced to Parliament the
biggest gun law reforms since John Howard's
reforms. It is a fact that the Howard era and the national firearms agreement
established a principle that is still relevant today. That is, firearms
possession and use in Australia is a privilege, and that privilege is entirely conditional on affording public safety. That
principle will now become part of the law
in Western Australia. It is not currently the law. The current law does not do
that. This will make public safety paramount among all considerations
across the entire legislation. That is quite reasonable. I think—I actually know—that most Western
Australians agree with the concept. Beyond that, the government will implement a range of measures that will ensure
that these are the toughest laws in the country and they afford a greater level of public safety than any other
jurisdiction. We are doing things and introducing reform, such as a complete
renewal of the property letter system, which has been completely corrupted. We
will introduce more onerous training obligations and health checks. We will do
things that, for the first time anywhere in the country, limit the
number of firearms that someone can own. This is probably the most critical
point.
This legislation is a very thick
volume. It is a complete rewrite of a 50-year-old act, as recommended by the Law Reform Commission in 2016, following two
years of consideration and consultation. Subsequently , in the first term
of our time in government, a working group was established by the now Speaker.
In more recent times, we have undertaken an entirely new consultation period
informed by those other periods of consultation, and we continue to consult and
consider submissions regarding the legislation.
The primary change—the crux
of the matter if we are talking about what we are doing that is new and different and might be debated—lies in the
application of a limit on how many firearms people can own. There are a small
number of people, a gun lobby, who advocate for an American-style gun culture
in Australia. They believe that there should be unlimited guns for a licence
holder. We do not agree with that and neither do most Western Australians. When
it comes to this debate, as it is being considered, and when people in this
place and elsewhere are afforded the opportunity to be briefed about the
legislation, they should focus their minds on that one question because that is
the question that will be posed to people who get to vote on the legislation in
this and the other place.
The question is whether they believe
it is okay for people to have unlimited guns or whether there should be a limit. It is a very simple question. Members
do not have to be briefed on the legislation or consider a lot of other
contributions in order to arrive at an answer to that question. That is the
fundamental reason for this small gun lobby opposing the legislation. No matter
what we do in response to its submissions and no matter how much consultation we undertake, it will never concede that there
should be a limit to how many guns somebody can own. We do not think that is
right; we are doing the right thing.
thank the member for his question. Today, we introduced to Parliament the
biggest gun law reforms since John Howard's
reforms. It is a fact that the Howard era and the national firearms agreement
established a principle that is still relevant today. That is, firearms
possession and use in Australia is a privilege, and that privilege is entirely conditional on affording public safety. That
principle will now become part of the law
in Western Australia. It is not currently the law. The current law does not do
that. This will make public safety paramount among all considerations
across the entire legislation. That is quite reasonable. I think—I actually know—that most Western
Australians agree with the concept. Beyond that, the government will implement a range of measures that will ensure
that these are the toughest laws in the country and they afford a greater level of public safety than any other
jurisdiction. We are doing things and introducing reform, such as a complete
renewal of the property letter system, which has been completely corrupted. We
will introduce more onerous training obligations and health checks. We will do
things that, for the first time anywhere in the country, limit the
number of firearms that someone can own. This is probably the most critical
point.
This legislation is a very thick
volume. It is a complete rewrite of a 50-year-old act, as recommended by the Law Reform Commission in 2016, following two
years of consideration and consultation. Subsequently , in the first term
of our time in government, a working group was established by the now Speaker.
In more recent times, we have undertaken an entirely new consultation period
informed by those other periods of consultation, and we continue to consult and
consider submissions regarding the legislation.
The primary change—the crux
of the matter if we are talking about what we are doing that is new and different and might be debated—lies in the
application of a limit on how many firearms people can own. There are a small
number of people, a gun lobby, who advocate for an American-style gun culture
in Australia. They believe that there should be unlimited guns for a licence
holder. We do not agree with that and neither do most Western Australians. When
it comes to this debate, as it is being considered, and when people in this
place and elsewhere are afforded the opportunity to be briefed about the
legislation, they should focus their minds on that one question because that is
the question that will be posed to people who get to vote on the legislation in
this and the other place.
The question is whether they believe
it is okay for people to have unlimited guns or whether there should be a limit. It is a very simple question. Members
do not have to be briefed on the legislation or consider a lot of other
contributions in order to arrive at an answer to that question. That is the
fundamental reason for this small gun lobby opposing the legislation. No matter
what we do in response to its submissions and no matter how much consultation we undertake, it will never concede that there
should be a limit to how many guns somebody can own. We do not think that is
right; we are doing the right thing.
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