NEARLY $10,000 has been spent by one Queensland shooting organisation in legal fights on behalf of its members following policy changes by the state’s Weapons Licensing Branch – and there’s no sign of that letting up anytime soon, either.
Following in the wake of a Question on Notice in Queensland Parliament from KAP Member for Hinchinbrook, Nick Dametto last week demanding an explanation for firearms licensing delays, cancellations and seizures, pre-eminent pro-shooting organisation Shooters Union Australia has waded into the fray.
Shooters Union Australia president Graham Park said the organisation had spent nearly $10,000 this year alone helping its members with Weapons Licensing issues.
“It’s completely unprecedented – we’ve dealt with more requests for legal help from our members in the past two months than we have in the past two years,” he said.
“It all stems from a deeply flawed Audit into Weapons Licensing, and in particular the auditors essentially not understanding what they were looking at and deciding, for some inexplicable reason, that law-abiding firearms users were the issue and not the incredibly outdated and not-fit-for-purpose systems in the state’s firearms registry.
“We’ve supported more than a dozen applications to the Queensland Civil Administration Tribunal (QCAT), covering everything from people having licences taken off them for speeding offences from decades ago, to primary producers who WLB deemed didn’t earn enough as a farmer to keep their licence.
“In a lot of cases, the situation is sorted out amicably before the QCAT hearing, but a number of cases have gone all the way with rulings in the shooter’s favour.
Mr Park said the situation now was simply chewing up vast sums of taxpayer’s money and administrative resources for no reason other than political appearances.
“Every dollar wasted by police justifying a pointless QCAT case because someone got busted smoking a marijuana joint in 1998 is a dollar that’s not being used to ensure frontline police and emergency services personnel have the equipment and resources they need to fight real and serious crimes like assault or robbery,” he said.
“What makes it worse is this problem could literally go away today if Weapons Licensing stopped actively looking for reasons to deny licenses to people, and went back to the way things were before the Audit when everything was working more or less satisfactorily.”
Mr Park welcomed Mr Dametto’s Question on Notice and said bureaucratic over-reach needed to be exposed and held to account.
“Imagine if the Department of Transport decided to refuse you a driver’s licence because of a decades old misdemeanour, or because you had dodgy mates, or because they decided you didn’t live far enough from your work to need a car – that’s pretty much exactly what happens to law-abiding shooters all the time,” he said.
“We are glad an MP is standing up for the constituents and saying ‘This is not OK’, and we are very much looking forward to the Police Minister’s reply when he provides it by March 29.”
Cairns News suggests you vent your anger on the Marxist-Leninst Gun Control Australia: https://www.guncontrolaustralia.org/
Contact Australia’s premier shooter’s body below which protects your inherent rights to own and bear arms:
When your government tells you that you don’t need guns, trust me when i say that you need guns.
Port Arthur massacre was orchestrated to disarm Australia & it worked. Now every police officer carries in it’s patrol cars semi automatic weapons and Australia will be totally disarmed.
Australian government have passed legislation that allows foreign troops power over us on our own soil which is an act of war in itself. And now they are coming for your guns. Wake up and get off your knees Australia.
Thanks Old Kodger on the ball as usual.Ed
section128 of The Australian Constitution Act 1901, clearly states that: –
“If a referendum is not done, when it is supposed to be, then…
Any bill/act made/amended without the people’s vote, it is invalid in law.
When was the referendum to stand aside the 1901 constitution or amend the Queensland constitution or amend the Western Australian constitution?
When was the referendum to remove the British Queen… defender of the faith, from the Commonwealth of Australia Parliament?
When was the referendum to remove the Commonwealth of Australia Parliament, and install the American company AUSTRALIAN GOVERNMENT?
IF we are to obey the 1901 constitution then there have been no acts having validity in law since,…….well I don’t know exactly when but it’s longer ago than the installation of any sitting judge or magistrate . Further, gun laws having been introduced relatively recently, have NO VALIDITY IN LAW.UNDER SECTION 128