Twist in gun laws debate

Inquiry may switch to Lower House

THE Legislative Council has abandoned plans for an inquiry into the Government’s dropped gun law reforms — but it could be resurrected in the House of Assembly.

The Government last Friday said it would not pursue an election promise to double the duration of some gun licences and make weapons such as pump-action shotguns more readily available.

Anti-gun campaigners criticised the proposed changes as breaches of the National Firearms Agreement.

The Legislative Council Select Committee inquiry was canned yesterday.

“The committee has been placed in the unenviable position of being without valid Terms of Reference. The committee is therefore unable to progress with the work of the inquiry,” chairman Ivan Dean said.

The committee plans to release the public submissions made to date. Hearings had not yet started.

Police Minister Michael Ferguson said he would push to establish a Lower House inquiry into gun laws.

“We will now move to keep faith with those people who made submissions, and establish an equivalent House of Assembly inquiry into firearms laws and inform future policy,” he said.

“This parliamentary committee will have the same ability to consider all of the submissions made to the Legislative Council inquiry once they are published.

“As we said last week, we will not be progressing the previously announced firearms law proposals until consider- ation of any recommendations from a parliamentary inquiry.”

“The Government’s overriding principle in relation to any proposed changes continues to be that we will not do anything to undermine the National Firearms Agreement.

“Our firearms laws are among the toughest in the world and that is how they should remain, allowing practical improvements to support the needs of legitimate firearms users.”

The move was welcomed by the state’s farming lobby.

“[We] look forward to participating in this forum and ensuring that the views of Tasmanian farmers are heard,” Tasmanian Farmers and Graziers Association CEO Peter Skillern said.

Labor’s police spokesman Shane Broad said the Government’s firearms policy was “a trainwreck”.