Bills

Firearms Bill

Final Stages

Consideration in committee of the House of Assembly's message.

The Hon. G.E. GAGO: I would like to make some very brief comments concerning the bill that has been returned from the House of Assembly. The government has supported the majority of the amendments made by the Legislative Council. While there are three that the House of Assembly did not agree to, the government sought a compromise to the amendment moved by the Hon. Terry Stephens concerning the general defence.

Minister Piccolo moved an amendment in the House of Assembly to remove 18 of the exclusions to the general defence which the government originally proposed. I am advised that there are now only five clauses the general defence is not applicable to, which are: clause 9, possession and use of firearms; clause 19, breach of condition; clause 22, trafficking in firearms; clause 37, manufacture of firearms, firearm parts or sound moderators; and clause 45, effective firearms prohibition order.

In addition, I would like to briefly clarify some points that arose during the committee stage of the bill in the House of Assembly. On 18 November and in response to a question from the member for Morialta about the junior shooter exemption at clause 8(2)(g), minister Piccolo advised that clause 8(2)(g) was not a new provision but one carried forward from existing regulation 24. For clarification, I am advised that clause 8(2)(g) encapsulates the intent of the provisions of existing regulation 24 upon which it is founded.

It does this by providing an exemption which encourages and enables genuine competitive junior shooters to participate in their chosen competitive sport without the requirement to be licensed in this state. Clause 8(2)(g) is intended to be limited to those unlicensed genuine competitive junior shooters who must be a member of a shooting club and who are shooting on the grounds of a shooting club whilst under the supervision of their licensed and recognised coach. An example might be a junior shooter who is genuinely competing in or practising for a competitive event.

I am advised that the exemptions at clause 8(2)(r) and (q) apply to any other unlicensed junior shooter, who can be supervised by his or her licensed parent or guardian or some other person approved by his or her parent or guardian. In these cases, it is intended the supervised shooting can occur at any appropriate location, including on the grounds of a shooting club, and it is not a requirement that the junior shooter be a member of a shooting club to utilise these exemptions, including when undertaking supervised shooting on the grounds of a shooting club.

I would also like to clarify some questions that have arisen concerning the quantity of class C firearms which an individual with an appropriate licence can acquire. I am advised that, under the existing act, primary producers, professional shooters, clay target shooters and collectors can acquire class C firearms. Primary producers can acquire one self-loading rifle and either one self-loading shotgun or one pump-action shotgun. There is no mandated limit on the number of class C firearms professional shooters and clay target shooters can acquire. However, like primary producers, these licences must satisfy a genuine needs test for each class C firearm sought to be acquired.

Collectors also have no mandated limit; however, their acquisition of class C firearms is governed by some additional requirements that are set out in current regulation 31. Regulation 31 also provides that the Royal Zoological Society may acquire class C firearms for the operations of its zoos. I am advised that supporting regulations for the bill will be developed and drafted in the new year and will include the setting out of requirements for the acquisition of class C firearms. In conclusion, I would like to thank the goodwill of all parties and Independents in working together on this important bill.

The Hon. R.L. BROKENSHIRE: I am pleased that the minister on behalf of the government did clarify those particular points, and I just want to place a couple of things on the public record before indicating our support for the situation as it stands. As late as yesterday, many of us—I know the shadow minister's office and some of my crossbench colleagues and Family First—received an email. I just want to put this on the public record to tie it in and clarify it, because I think it is going to be really important for when the regulations come in. I still encourage all those involved in firearms to be very proactive and collaborate and be cooperative with each other in working through the round table with Rob Kerin when it comes to the regulations.

To help set the scene for that, and further to what the minister has just put on the public record, the email we received was to do with particularly junior shooters and those qualifications. The two key points they were seeking were to clarify with the government over the issues around an email that the minister received last Sunday noting concerns about the junior shooting situation. I am advised that on Tuesday the police minister's adviser, Mr Emmanuel Cusack, did ring these people to reassure them that it would be explained in our house this week, and the minister has just done that. That, to me, is the explanation that they were seeking, so it is on the public record. Therefore, I believe that that does set out the clarification points that were needed by these people regarding issues like categories B and H, younger shooters, sporting clubs and also the supervision issues.

I place that on the record, because it is important for the history that everyone can see that there has been a concerted effort by all parties to try to come up with a balanced outcome. Politics is really about the art of achievable compromise. There are people who are disaffected by virtue of this bill but there are people who are unhappy that this bill did not go further. I want to recognise the work that the police have done over a very long period of time to find the best possible outcomes in modernising the act. I recognise what the Combined Firearms Council and other peak bodies have done to represent their members as well, but I think it is also time to recognise that there was a lot of work done not only in both chambers on this but also behind the scenes. I want to note on the public record that there was a lot of cooperation between minister Piccolo's chief of staff (Mr Nick Lombardi) and his ministerial adviser (Mr Emmanuel Cusack), the opposition, crossbenchers and the government. There were quite a lot of meetings and a heck of a lot of discussion behind the scenes.

The outcome now is one that will not please everybody but I would ask them to look at the achievements they have made. After all my years of trying to negotiate through the delicacies and difficulties of firearms bills, I think there have been more achievements for those who are legitimate firearms owners than in previous parliamentary debates and, therefore, I would ask them to look proactively at what we have achieved. I am advised that, if we were to try to go any further, we could end up with a situation that would be less satisfactory than the outcomes we have now. With those words, I congratulate everybody involved in this delicate issue—this is a difficult bill. I think the outcome is fair and reasonable and Family First accepts the compromises.

The Hon. T.J. STEPHENS: I echo the words of the Hon. Robert Brokenshire. This has been a particularly difficult issue, especially coming from the eyes of someone who is always concerned that legitimate firearms owners are normally, almost, the target of any change to legislation when, in fact, the intention should always be to punish the bad guys and take firearms from those people who always operate outside the law. I would like to thank Family First, the Hon. Rob Brokenshire and the Hon. John Darley for their support in the upper house.

Obviously, it was a pretty respectful discussion. I do not think I won the Hon. Tammy Franks and the Greens too often, but she put her case most eloquently, as always. We did not get everything we wanted for the legitimate firearms owners but there has been a very good spirit of compromise. My colleague in the other place, the shadow minister for police (the member for Morialta), I think has done an outstanding job on behalf of licensed firearms owners. I know my that party room is very grateful for the work he has put into this particular bill and we look forward now to its passage. Again, I thank everybody who has cooperated in a pretty respectful way on this particular piece of legislation.

The Hon. G.E. GAGO: I move:

That the council does not insist on amendments Nos. 1, 2 and 7; and does not insist on amendment No. 9 and agrees to the alternative amendment made in the House of Assembly.

Motion carried.