(No. 4)

2018

Parliament of

LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL SELECT COMMITTEE FINAL REPORT

ON Firearms Law Reforms

Members of the Select Committee

Hon Robert Armstrong (Deputy Chair) Hon Ivan Dean MLC (Chair) Hon MLC Hon Leonie Hiscutt MLC Hon MLC Hon Jo Siejka MLC

Terms of Reference

On Tuesday 22 May 2018, the Legislative Council resolved that a Select Committee be appointed to inquire into and report upon the impact of the Government’s proposed firearms law reforms as outlined in the policy document of 9 February 2018 with the following Terms of Reference —

(1) Current and future firearms licensing regimes, including training and testing, licence renewal, licence infringements and licence categories;

(2) Compliance with the provisions of the National Firearms Agreement;

(3) The roles of , Firearms Services (FAS) and the proposed Tasmanian Firearms Owners Council (TFOC);

(4) The role of the proposed Memorandum of Understanding between the Government, Tasmania Police and the Tasmanian Farmers and Graziers Association (TFGA);

(5) The ownership and use of sound suppressors by Category C licence holders; and

(6) Any other matters incidental thereto.

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

Background 4 Establishment and progress of the Inquiry 5 Acknowledgement 6 Meetings 7 Submissions received 7

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Background

1. On 9 February 2018, the (the Government) circulated a policy document to a number of stakeholders outlining possible changes to firearms policy in Tasmania.

2. The policy document included the following:

 the establishment of a Tasmanian Firearms Council; a nine-member statutory body to provide advice to the Minister for Police and the Government generally;  improving interactions between Firearms Services (FAS) and firearms owners;  establishment of a new Tasmanian competition shooting range;  broader firearms training and testing provisions to move away from the single- provider model currently in place;  extended licence periods for up to 10 years for Category A and B firearms and 2 years for Category C firearms licenses;  infringement notices for minor storage offences, rather than a summons and removal of firearms;  establish a Memorandum of Understanding between the Government, Tasmania Police and the Tasmanian Farmers and Graziers Association (TFGA) to define firearms as ‘tools of the trade’ for primary producers and develop new approaches to their use. These would include new methods of carrying and conveying firearms, the provision for genuine employees to include contractors or agents of primary producers to be able to hold Category C licenses for crop protection and pest control. They would also permit Category C holders or crop protection permit holders to own and use sound suppressors in the course of the use of their firearms for primary production purposes;  clarify a number of requirements for harmonisation of regulations over target pistol events between jurisdictions;  replace the existing requirement that a competition clay target shooter wishing to use a Category C semi-automatic shotgun must belong to one particular clay-target organisation, with a choice of approved clubs being made available;  amend Section 98 of the Firearms Act to clarify that for firearms received temporarily from interstate for repairs it is sufficient to have seen the interstate registration subject to normal reporting;  re-define the term “manufacture” to allow certain repairs and assembly of firearms to take place;  amend the Firearms Act to allow an owner to have a dedicated and secured room which can be designated a temporary “safe area” for the purposes of the reloading of ammunition;  develop a protocol between Tasmania Police and antique firearms and militaria groups for the operation of shows, militaria and re-enactment events; and  review Section 47 of the Firearms Act relating to anomalous restrictions on the collection and display of militaria such as trigger locks on inoperative antique pistols.

3. The Government advised that it would refer the following matters to a new Tasmanian Firearms Owners Council (TFOC):

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 the creation of a new Category E to encompass all ‘prohibited firearms’;  review and develop protocols for the carriage of firearms in public places in vehicles;  review of “military appearance” firearms laws; and  restrictions on carriage of ammunition across Bass Strait between Victoria and Tasmania.

4. The Government advised that it would refer the following matters to the Council of Police Ministers:

 amendments to the National Firearms Agreement to harmonise firearms laws across jurisdictions; and  the possibility of expanding the “reason to own” a Category C firearm to include competition shooting for recognised competition shooting events in .

Establishment and progress of the Inquiry

5. The Inquiry was established in order to address concerns that the Government had not consulted widely with the Tasmanian community and to provide all sectors of the community the opportunity to have input into the issue. It was intended that the membership of the Select Committee be a balanced representation of political parties and the different .

6. On 25 March 2018, the Government announced that it supported the establishment of the Inquiry and would work with the Legislative Council and assist as needed.

7. On 22 May 2018, the Legislative Council agreed to the Inquiry and endorsed the Terms of Reference.

8. The closing date for submissions was 3 August 2018.

9. The Inquiry received 111 submissions.

10. The Committee met on 15 August 2018 to consider the submissions received and initiated the process of arranging public hearings.

11. On 17 August 2018 the Government made a submission to the Inquiry, together with a public announcement, to advise that it would not progress its previously announced firearms law policy, and that it intended to review firearms policy after consideration of recommendations from the Committee.

12. As the Inquiry’s Terms of Reference were specifically drafted to address the Government’s proposed reforms, the Committee was placed in the unenviable position of not having valid Terms of Reference. After taking considered advice, the Committee determined that the Inquiry should not progress.

13. The Committee has published all submissions, with the exception of confidential submissions and those which were later requested to be withdrawn.

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Acknowledgement

14. The Committee extends its appreciation to all individuals and organisations who took the time and effort to make submissions to the Inquiry.

Ivan Dean MLC Date: 30/8/18 (Chair)

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MEETINGS AND ATTENDANCE

Date Armstrong Dean Gaffney Hiscutt Rattray Siejka 24 May 2018       15 August 2018    X   21 August 2018       28 August 2018 X     

SUBMISSIONS RECEIVED 1 Ian Peck 2 Sharon Fotheringham 3 Ian Fitch 4 Todd Oakley 5 Oliver Mann 6 CONFIDENTIAL 7 Penelope Lane 8 Stephen Williams 9 Mathew Jamieson 10 Australian Firearms Management Lobby Group 11 Nigel Calvert 12 John Presser 13 Justyn Atkins 14 Philip Sumner 15 Julia Greenhill 16 CONFIDENTIAL 17 Sporting Shooters Association of Australia (Tasmania) Inc 18 Kim Boyer 19 Steve Suitor 20 Shan Rayner 21 Robert Richardson 22 Shooters Union Tasmania Pty Ltd 23 Royal Australian College of General Practitioners (RACGP) 24 CONFIDENTIAL

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SUBMISSIONS RECEIVED CONTINUED

25 Richard Lindsay, Timothy Lindsay, Indri Sukata 26 Gary Harper 27 Bryan Finlay 28 CONFIDENTIAL 29 David Wanless 30 Cathleen Hutchison 31 Charles Woodley 32 Murray Seen 33 Ronald Cornish 34 Andrew Abbott 35 Rod Scott 36 Toni Tarbath 37 Marguerite Scott 38 Brendan Nicholls 39 Nelle Seccombe 40 Health and Community Services Union (HACSU) 41 Prof Mark Nelson 42 Leanne Longden 43 Jared Rattray 44 Malcolm Thomas 45 Andrew Morrison 46 Lachlan Finnigan 47 Clay Target Club Inc 48 The Royal Australian & New Zealand College of Psychiatrists (Tas) (RANZCP) 49 Jim & Linda Collier 50 Linda Devereux 51 Dr James Duff 52 CONFIDENTIAL 53 Australian Deer Association (Tasmanian State)

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SUBMISSIONS RECEIVED CONTINUED

54 Tasmanian Deer Advisory Committee Inc 55 Andrew Zimmermann 56 Damon and Tony Long 57 Peter Rockliff 58 George Chandler (PARTS CONFIDENTIAL) 59 Shooters Fishers & Farmers Tasmania 60 Finn Seccombe 61 CONFIDENTIAL 62 CONFIDENTIAL 63 Firearm Owners United 64 Medics for Gun Control 65 Natalie Leader 66 Alex Lomas 67 Shane Broadby 68 Tasmanian Rifle Association Inc 69 Steve Atkins (PARTS CONFIDENTIAL) 70 George Mills 71 Public Health Association Australia (PHAA) 72 WITHDRAWN 73 James Boxall 74 Labor Party 75 CONFIDENTIAL 76 Australian Deer Association 77 Ian Hill 78 Carol Rea 79 White Ribbon Australia 80 Samuel Adams 81 Australian Medical Association (AMA) 82 National Council of Women of Tasmania Inc (NCWT)

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SUBMISSIONS RECEIVED CONTINUED

83 Charlton Hunters Club Inc 84 WITHDRAWN 85 Tasmanian Farmers and Graziers Association (TFGA) 86 Gun Control Australia 87 Australian Nursing and Midwifery Federation (Tasmanian Branch) (ANMF) 88 Barney Phillips 89 James Thomson 90 Cheryl Arnol 91 Tasmanian Pistol & Rifle Club Inc 92 Leonie Elizabeth 93 Dr Vivien Wright 94 Arms Collectors Guild of Tasmania 95 Gaye Churchill 96 Glenn Arnol 97 Ursula Wright 98 Australian Injury Prevention Network 99 Heath Morton 100 Tamar Pistol Club Tasmania 101 Andrew Ricketts 102 M C Jones 103 CONFIDENTIAL 104 Wayne Venn 105 Alastair Cameron 106 107 Federation of Hunting Clubs Inc 108 Port Arthur Historic Site Management Authority (PAHSMA) 109 Tasmanian Government 110 Tasmanian Conservation Trust Inc 111 Allanah and Madeleine Foundation

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