House of Assembly Fifty-Second Parliament, Second Session (52-2) 52 2 Parliament of South Australia House of Assembly published Question Time Firearms Prohibition Orders FIREARMS PROHIBITION ORDERS Mr VAN HOLST PELLEKAAN House of Assembly Stuart FIREARMS PROHIBITION ORDERS Mr VAN HOLST PELLEKAAN (Stuart) (14:53): I have a supplementary question. Given the minister telling us about the success of this program, does that mean that the in excess of 1,000 firearms per year on average that are reported stolen or missing are ending up in the hands of people without firearms prohibition orders placed upon them? The Hon. M.F. O'BRIEN House of Assembly Napier Minister for Finance Minister for Police Minister for Correctional Services Minister for Emergency Services Minister for Road Safety FIREARMS PROHIBITION ORDERS The Hon. M.F. O'BRIEN (Napier—Minister for Finance, Minister for Police, Minister for Correctional Services, Minister for Emergency Services, Minister for Road Safety) (14:54): In response to that question we can surely assume that a large number of these weapons are finding their way into the possession of individuals who have these prohibitions orders served upon them or, at some time in the future, will have these orders served upon them. The intent of the legislation is to make it well nigh impossible for these individuals to receive these weapons into their possession through the illegal firearms trade, which is well developed in Australia. Those individuals who have not been yet captured may, in the fullness of time, be brought into the net. We do have an issue and, in large part, the issue is the importation of firearms into this country. We have had discussions with the commonwealth government to see whether we can get a higher degree of activity on our borders to prevent these weapons coming into Australia. At the state level, as I said, South Australia is leading the nation with this particular approach to closing down the opportunity for a particular group of criminals to have possession of these weapons, but we are seeking commonwealth assistance in closing our borders.