Mr Masters questions the inability to combine firearm and driver's licenses for renewal, suggesting a voluntary combination option. The answer cites interstate validity issues, differing penalty systems, and the existence of firearm license holders without driver's licenses as reasons against combining them.

AnsweredQoN 1016Legislative Assembly
Asked
12 September 2001
Member
Portfolio
Police and Emergency Services

QuestionView source ↗

(1) Why is it not possible for a person who owns a firearm to renew his or her license, which will require photo identification, by combining it with a vehicle driver's license which also has photo ID?
(2) If the reason is that privacy controls requiring two separate databases to be maintained are impossible to circumvent, could firearm license holders voluntarily combine the two licenses by notifying both responsible Government agencies of his/her decision to combine the two licenses, thus allowing his/her name to be appropriately recorded on each of the existing databases?

AnswerView source ↗

Answered
15 November 2001
Responded by
Minister for Police and Emergency Services
Response time
64 days
(2) Not readily. · Western Australians could drive in other states using their Western Australia Driver’s Licence, however, they cannot use their Western Australian Firearm Licence in other states. · There are penalties that deal with the cancellation or suspension of a Driver’s Licence; and likewise there are penalties that deal with the revocation of a person’s Firearm Licence. Therefore if one licence is either suspended or cancelled, there would be no mechanism to indicate whether or not the person’s other licence is still valid. · There are persons who have a Western Australian Firearm Licence or permit but do not have a Western Australia Driver’s Licence; such as visitors to this State. Refer answer to Question (1).
· Western Australians could drive in other states using their Western Australia Driver’s Licence, however, they cannot use their Western Australian Firearm Licence in other states. · There are penalties that deal with the cancellation or suspension of a Driver’s Licence; and likewise there are penalties that deal with the revocation of a person’s Firearm Licence. Therefore if one licence is either suspended or cancelled, there would be no mechanism to indicate whether or not the person’s other licence is still valid. · There are persons who have a Western Australian Firearm Licence or permit but do not have a Western Australia Driver’s Licence; such as visitors to this State. Refer answer to Question (1).
Refer answer to Question (1).

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