The Labor Government in Western Australia has introduced the Firearms Bill 2024 to parliament, retaining many (if not all) of hateful anti-gun owner elements proposed as part of its cursory “community consultation” process last year.
As Sporting Shooter magazine explains, some of the more notable issues in the Bill include:
- Hard limits on the number of firearms a shooter may own (listed as 10 for a competition licence and five for hunting licence)
- Taking into account a person’s “views, opinions and attitudes” and their “way of living or domestic circumstances” when deciding if they are a fit and proper person to hold a gun licence
- Taking into account how many other shooters have permission to hunt on a particular property before letting an applicant apply for a hunting purposes gun licence relating to that property
- Prohibiting landowners from charging for providing hunting authorisation on their property
- Including physical and mental health checks as part of the licence application process
- No mention of recognition for interstate licences.
The State Government is conducting a (barely) compensated surrender of “excess” firearms. At this stage we are encouraging shooters NOT to participate – the “buyback” is voluntary and the Bill is NOT law and will not be law in any form before August at the earliest.
We have engaged solicitors to investigate what, if any legal actions, might be available for WA firearms owners affected by the new legislation.
Regrettably our efforts to fight the new laws are being hampered by the refusal of the Western Australia Firearms Community Alliance (WAFCA) to work with us, or even respond to our enquiries and offers of assistance.
We will continue to extend our offer of support and assistance to them and hope they will reconsider their stance, given the serious implications of these laws not only in WA but across the entire country.
