❓ Opposition questions the government's timing of the Firearms Bill, citing broken promises. The Minister defends the bill's process and accuses the opposition of undermining public safety.
AnsweredQoN 419Legislative Assembly
QuestionView source ↗
FIREARMS
BILL 2024
419. Mr R.S. LOVE to the Minister for Police:
I have a supplementary question. Why
is the government forcing the firearms legislation through the Parliament this
week when the minister made frequent promises in this place that this would not
take place until August after the winter break?
Several members interjected.
The SPEAKER : Order! Just
before I give the minister the call, there were a number of interjections,
which there should not be.
BILL 2024
419. Mr R.S. LOVE to the Minister for Police:
I have a supplementary question. Why
is the government forcing the firearms legislation through the Parliament this
week when the minister made frequent promises in this place that this would not
take place until August after the winter break?
Several members interjected.
The SPEAKER : Order! Just
before I give the minister the call, there were a number of interjections,
which there should not be.
AnswerView source ↗
Thank you, Speaker. The Leader of
the Opposition is aware that the process to deliver a draft bill, which is a rewrite
of the Firearms Act and is the first time that has happened in 50 years, took
two and a half years and included a huge two-year consultation process, the
delivery of a consultation paper, the assessment of the submissions to that
paper, the inclusion of amendments as a consequence of those contributions and
also a debate in this place for the better part of, I think, 20 hours on the
floor —
Mr R.S. Love interjected.
Mr P. PAPALIA : I am getting
to the Leader of the Opposition.
The SPEAKER : Order, please!
Mr P. PAPALIA : Wait a minute.
Mr R.S. Love interjected.
The SPEAKER : Order, please!
Mr P. PAPALIA : There was a week
and a half of debate in the lower house and then it went to the upper house
where it was considered by the Standing Committee on Uniform Legislation and
Statutes Review for, I think, a couple of months. The debate in the upper
house, if you can call it that, took three weeks. It took three weeks of the
Parliament's time. As I understand it, it got to the second clause of a
bill that is in the order of 10 centimetres thick. So many clauses were not
considered in the course of the debate to this point that it is extraordinary
that the Leader of the Opposition has the gall to come in here after the
tragedy —
Mr R.S. Love interjected.
Point of Order
Mr D.A. TEMPLEMAN : Point of
order.
The SPEAKER : A point of
order, which will be heard in silence.
Ms R. Saffioti interjected.
The SPEAKER : Sorry; Deputy
Premier, I have given the call to the Leader of the House.
Mr D.A. TEMPLEMAN : The
minister is clearly not taking interjections and the Leader of the Opposition
is incessantly interjecting.
The SPEAKER : Not only that,
Leader of the Opposition, but your interjections have been repetitive. You said
the same thing over and again. I will ask you to desist and I will ask the
minister to complete his answer.
Questions without Notice Resumed
Mr P. PAPALIA : Thank you,
Speaker. It is extraordinary that the Leader of the Opposition has the gall to
come into this place and talk about rushing the legislation. That is the first
observation I make. Secondly, the opposition has
a range of amendments in the upper house aimed at completely reversing the
bill, unwinding the bill and making it easier for people to acquire
firearms and ensuring that people who want firearms will be unlimited in the
number they can possess. The opposition has amendments in the upper house to
make the softest gun laws in the country. To do that and not revoke, repeal or
withdraw —
Mr R.S. Love interjected.
The SPEAKER : Order, please!
Mr
P. PAPALIA : To do that and not
withdraw those appalling amendments following the Floreat tragedy is shameful.
Mr R.S. Love interjected.
Mr P. PAPALIA : The Leader of
the Opposition should have not only withdrawn everything he has done, but also
directed those people representing his party—the ones he is not going
to endorse at the next election for the upper house—to support the
legislation. That is what the Leader of the Opposition should have done, but he
has not. He has actively sought to incite anger against legislation that is
aimed at making the community safer.
Mr R.S. Love interjected.
Mr P. PAPALIA : The number one reform of the new
legislation is to elevate public safety to the primary consideration, above all
other considerations. The Leader of the Opposition opposed that. He opposed the
mental health component of the health check. He opposed the limit on the number
of firearms someone can own.
Several members interjected.
The SPEAKER : Order, please,
members!
Mr P. PAPALIA : The Leader of
the Opposition opposed —
The SPEAKER : Minister! Leader
of the Opposition, this is not a debate. It is not an opportunity to debate the
minister. He is responding to your question and he is coming to a conclusion. I
do not want further interjections.
Mr P. PAPALIA : The Leader of
the Opposition opposed reforms that will reduce the number of firearms across
the suburbs of Western Australia. It is extraordinary that the Leader of the
Opposition has the gall to retain that stance in light of what we just
witnessed in recent times. I am appalled and I am disappointed in the Liberal
Party, which continues to fail to support the
legislation. If the Liberal Party does not oppose it, it does not support it.
Both the opposition parties of Western Australia are letting the people
of Western Australia down on a very simple proposition, which is to make the
community safer.
The SPEAKER : That concludes
question time.
the Opposition is aware that the process to deliver a draft bill, which is a rewrite
of the Firearms Act and is the first time that has happened in 50 years, took
two and a half years and included a huge two-year consultation process, the
delivery of a consultation paper, the assessment of the submissions to that
paper, the inclusion of amendments as a consequence of those contributions and
also a debate in this place for the better part of, I think, 20 hours on the
floor —
Mr R.S. Love interjected.
Mr P. PAPALIA : I am getting
to the Leader of the Opposition.
The SPEAKER : Order, please!
Mr P. PAPALIA : Wait a minute.
Mr R.S. Love interjected.
The SPEAKER : Order, please!
Mr P. PAPALIA : There was a week
and a half of debate in the lower house and then it went to the upper house
where it was considered by the Standing Committee on Uniform Legislation and
Statutes Review for, I think, a couple of months. The debate in the upper
house, if you can call it that, took three weeks. It took three weeks of the
Parliament's time. As I understand it, it got to the second clause of a
bill that is in the order of 10 centimetres thick. So many clauses were not
considered in the course of the debate to this point that it is extraordinary
that the Leader of the Opposition has the gall to come in here after the
tragedy —
Mr R.S. Love interjected.
Point of Order
Mr D.A. TEMPLEMAN : Point of
order.
The SPEAKER : A point of
order, which will be heard in silence.
Ms R. Saffioti interjected.
The SPEAKER : Sorry; Deputy
Premier, I have given the call to the Leader of the House.
Mr D.A. TEMPLEMAN : The
minister is clearly not taking interjections and the Leader of the Opposition
is incessantly interjecting.
The SPEAKER : Not only that,
Leader of the Opposition, but your interjections have been repetitive. You said
the same thing over and again. I will ask you to desist and I will ask the
minister to complete his answer.
Questions without Notice Resumed
Mr P. PAPALIA : Thank you,
Speaker. It is extraordinary that the Leader of the Opposition has the gall to
come into this place and talk about rushing the legislation. That is the first
observation I make. Secondly, the opposition has
a range of amendments in the upper house aimed at completely reversing the
bill, unwinding the bill and making it easier for people to acquire
firearms and ensuring that people who want firearms will be unlimited in the
number they can possess. The opposition has amendments in the upper house to
make the softest gun laws in the country. To do that and not revoke, repeal or
withdraw —
Mr R.S. Love interjected.
The SPEAKER : Order, please!
Mr
P. PAPALIA : To do that and not
withdraw those appalling amendments following the Floreat tragedy is shameful.
Mr R.S. Love interjected.
Mr P. PAPALIA : The Leader of
the Opposition should have not only withdrawn everything he has done, but also
directed those people representing his party—the ones he is not going
to endorse at the next election for the upper house—to support the
legislation. That is what the Leader of the Opposition should have done, but he
has not. He has actively sought to incite anger against legislation that is
aimed at making the community safer.
Mr R.S. Love interjected.
Mr P. PAPALIA : The number one reform of the new
legislation is to elevate public safety to the primary consideration, above all
other considerations. The Leader of the Opposition opposed that. He opposed the
mental health component of the health check. He opposed the limit on the number
of firearms someone can own.
Several members interjected.
The SPEAKER : Order, please,
members!
Mr P. PAPALIA : The Leader of
the Opposition opposed —
The SPEAKER : Minister! Leader
of the Opposition, this is not a debate. It is not an opportunity to debate the
minister. He is responding to your question and he is coming to a conclusion. I
do not want further interjections.
Mr P. PAPALIA : The Leader of
the Opposition opposed reforms that will reduce the number of firearms across
the suburbs of Western Australia. It is extraordinary that the Leader of the
Opposition has the gall to retain that stance in light of what we just
witnessed in recent times. I am appalled and I am disappointed in the Liberal
Party, which continues to fail to support the
legislation. If the Liberal Party does not oppose it, it does not support it.
Both the opposition parties of Western Australia are letting the people
of Western Australia down on a very simple proposition, which is to make the
community safer.
The SPEAKER : That concludes
question time.
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