Former police commissioner fears WA's new gun laws could spark feral animal surge

ABC NEWS (Australia)

A former WA police commissioner says the state's gun reforms are unnecessarily targeting regional firearms users and won't combat crime in Perth. Police Commissioner Col Blanch said the laws were a matter for the parliament and government, with police to "operationalise" them. Farmers are concerned feral animal populations may spike as the number of legal shooters declines once new laws come into effect this month.

Transcript

00:00Brendan Barrows has a problem with foxes.

00:06I'm losing lambs by the hundreds with foxes and the quickest humane way to eradicate them,

00:14which is the problem, is with a shotgun.

00:17He bought a shotgun last year after checking with police

00:20it would be permitted for fox control under the new regulations.

00:25Just before Christmas he received a letter saying it was now banned.

00:29It has to be handed in for no compensation or anything, so it's an $1800 take away.

00:35The controversial gun control laws bans the use of rapid reload guns or semi-automatics.

00:42Once you pass a law that says public safety is the number one consideration,

00:46above all other considerations, you cannot justify semi-automatic shotguns and rifles.

00:52But in rural WA farmers say they are an essential tool.

00:56Unless you're a gun ho shot and you can shoot them with a single bullet on the run,

01:01then you should be shooting in the Olympics for Australia, but we ain't all like that.

01:06I think government has thrown a blanket over a problem and captured everyone in that net.

01:12When they're trying to manage illegal gun management or firearm crime,

01:18as a former police commissioner I don't know that we've ever had problems

01:21with people who belong to those organisations.

01:23It's not the sort of people we're trying to control.

01:25We have done everything we can to communicate with our community

01:28about the consequences and impact of those laws

01:31and we have consulted widely as part of that process, as has government.

01:35As Police Minister Paul Papalia oversaw the legislation,

01:39but he's now been replaced by Rhys Whitby.

01:42Labor Party insiders believe the firearms issue drove voters away from Labor

01:48in the seats of Albany, Warren Blackwood and Geraldton.

01:52In a statement the government says it's unapologetic about banning rapid release

01:57or push-button firearms, insisting the changes are here to stay.

Category

Transcript

Recommended