Nicole McKee
ACT Firearms Law Reform
ACT today welcomes a correction of the record in Parliament from Poto Williams after she repeatedly used incorrect figures.
Poto Williams, Stuart Nash and other Government Ministers have repeatedly said that 60,000 Military Style Semi-Automatic firearms (MSSAs) were handed over in the gun buyback. The reality is that only 15,000 were MSSAs, the rest were newly prohibited firearms.
This was a gross misrepresentation of the gun buyback. The Minister was trying to make it look like all the guns that law-abiding firearms owners were handing in were MSSAs. This was not even close to reality.
That’s why I wrote to the Minister on behalf of firearms owners asking her to correct the record.
The firearms community has felt vilified by this Government and today’s acknowledgement from Williams is a small step towards repairing the relationship. But it’s not nearly enough.
“Next, she needs to ensure that the licencing system is up to scratch, instead of leaving people waiting months, and in some cases years for their licences to be processed or renewed.
Law abiding firearms users who are hunters, pest controllers and sports shooters have felt targeted by this Government.
Police Minister Poto Williams needs to give an assurance that she’s working to fix the licensing system and the relationship with firearms users.
