Rosalie Woodruff MP | Greens’ Police spokesperson
The report released today by Gun Control Australia shows firearms thefts have doubled over the last decade. Even more concerning, Tasmania showed a far higher number of guns stolen per capita than any other Australian state.
Gun Control Australia’s research shows 8% of all gun thefts happen in Tasmania, even though only 2% of the national population live here.
More than 2,000 guns were stolen from Tasmanian residences over the last ten years. Tasmania isn’t currently safely controlling the storage of licensed firearms, yet the Liberals’ policy proposes to weaken firearm use and storage laws.
Most firearms are stolen from licensed gun owners at their residence or farm, and most are never recovered and fall into the illegal market. This confirms just how dangerous the Liberals’ policy would be.
We don’t need an Upper House inquiry to tell us the Liberals’ backdoor election policy would make Tasmania in breach of the National Firearms Agreement, and the community less safe because of it.
The Liberals propose to have fewer restrictions on gun licences, with more dangerous firearms and silencers available in Tasmania. This directly contravenes the 1996 National Firearms Agreement.
Tasmania needs stronger laws to ensure guns are safely secured, and the availability of rapid-fire weapons is restricted.
The Liberals’ unsafe firearms policy was only revealed a few days before the election, and never announced publicly. There is no mandate to weaken our gun laws, and make our community less safe in an attempt to buy votes from a particular constituency.
Instead of hiding behind an Upper House Inquiry, the Liberals should scrap their dangerous policy now.