We’re not the only ones fed up!
The Shooting Industry Foundation of Australia wrote this letter to Micheal Keenan MP, slamming the decision to ban the import of lever action shotguns with a capacity of more than five. Like Shooters Union, SIFA is highly critical of the lack of industry consultation before making decisions that affect licensed law abiding shooters. Our politicians are listening to themselves and the police without any reference to the people affected. We are law-abiding citizens who deserve to be heard by the people we elect to look after our interests.
Enough’s enough!
Click here to see the original letter.
In case it’s hard to read here’s a transcript:
August 11, 2015
The Hon. Michael Keenan MP,
Minister for Justice
PO Box 6022
House of Representatives,
Parliament House
CANBERRA 2600.
Dear Minister
Since you abolished the Commonwealth Firearms Advisory Council you have given assurances, both in private meetings and in public statements that the industry would be consulted on matters of interest to it.
The industry has assumed that when you gave these assurances you did so on behalf of the Government.
The stock reply Government members are sending in response to queries about the review of the National Firearms Agreement says that you have stressed that the decision is not about targeting law-abiding gun owners.
On Friday, I joined the cast which assembled in Brisbane for an exchange (I would not describe it as a consultation) with the members of the Firearms and Weapons Policy Working Group = all 40 of them, or whatever their number is.
After leaving the meeting, I was told that the Government had made a regulation concerning lever action shot guns. There was not any mention of this decision at the meeting although it is inconceivable there were not people in the meeting who knew about it.
Not only does the regulation prohibit the import of lever action shot guns with a magazine capacity of more than five rounds but it also prohibits the import of magazines with a capacity of more than five rounds.
Evidence linking lever action shot guns with a magazine capacity of more than five rounds to terrorism has not been produced, and we believe does not exist.
While we note the rhetoric about this prohibition’s being temporary, we also know that the National Firearms and Weapons Policy Working Group has had an agendum dating back to at least 2005 to re-classify lever action firearms.
There are in Australia about 4,000 lever action shot guns which are registered and owned by law-abiding gun owners. These owners are now unable to buy magazines to replace or supplement the magazines they currently use. While law enforcement agencies were consulted on this regulation and its impact, the industry and representatives of these law-abiding gun owners were not.
There is already a high level of skepticism among recreational shooters about the Government’s statements that it is not targeting law-abiding gun owners.
This latest example of failing to consult reinforces the impression that this Government has not the slightest interest in Consulting the industry or recreational shooters about issues affecting them and heightens the prevailing level of skepticism about the Government’s attitudes and intentions within the sport.
Yours sincerely
Luca Scribani Rossi
Chairman
CC: The Hon. Tony Abbott MP, Prime Minister
Senator David Leyonhjelm
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