Gun law changes have Liberal MPs and Murraylands locals up in arms
The Murraylands’ state and federal parliamentarians, Adrian Pederick and Tony Pasin, are not happy about changes being proposed in the wake of the Bondi massacre.
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Responsible gun owners shouldn’t be targeted by a crackdown in the wake of a terrible shooting, locals and Liberal MPs say.
Thousands of people have signed a petition opposing any changes to South Australia’s gun laws, and more than 100 locals turned up for a community meeting about the issue at Murray Bridge RSL last Wednesday night.
On the night, there was a sense of solidarity with the 15 people killed at Sydney’s Bondi Beach in December, when two gunmen opened fire at a Hannukah celebration.
But there was also scepticism and uncertainty about Prime Minister Anthony Albanese’s response to the tragedy.
The PM promised to establish a national gun buyback scheme, and to introduce new restrictions on gun ownership, including:
- A cap on the number of guns one person is able to own
- Further restrictions on the types of guns which are legal to own
- Restricting gun licences to Australian citizens only
Mannum contract shooter and gunsmith Keith Huston said a firearms cap would be highly impractical.
Rural landowners might need 10 different guns to control different pest animals, he suggested, from rabbits and corellas to kangaroos.
A 15-gun cap would be more reasonable, he suggested.
He, and other speakers, also worried that staff in SA Police’s firearms section would not be able to keep up with any law changes.
Officers had enough trouble processing everyone’s gun licences already, they said, with long delays and processes prone to errors.
“The bottleneck is the lack of authorised officers,” one audience member said.
“They process all your paperwork, but they can’t actually sign the authority.
“We’re short on coppers.”
The overriding mood in the room was one of uncertainty about what was being proposed and how it would affect locals.
It is not even clear yet whether the buyback scheme will go ahead, as state governments would have to agree to fund it on a 50-50 basis.
South Australia’s government has not indicated whether it will participate on those terms.
‘Every socialist government disarms its people’
There were also some stronger opinions expressed on the night.
One audience member urged the politicians to remember Tony Grosser, who shot a police officer in the Barossa Valley in 1994: “That’s what’s going to happen – people are going to lose it, they won’t give up their guns.”
Vietnam veteran Adrian Walford suggested people needed to keep their guns to protect against any future invasion of Australia.
“In times of war, we need people who’ve had previous military training, with firearms, that know how to use them and can train others,” he said.
Taking away people’s guns was a hallmark of a socialist, or communist, government, he suggested.
Liberal MPs will oppose buyback and law changes
Mr Pederick – the holder of a category C gun licence – said he and the Liberal Party did not support the idea of SA paying for a gun buyback, or a cap on the number of guns someone could own.
He would support the idea of restricting gun ownership to Australian citizens, and better intelligence-sharing between agencies.
MP Nicola Centofanti, who was also present at last week’s meeting, said the overwhelming majority of gun owners were responsible and law-abiding.
“Firearms are something that (city people) only ever hear about in the news and they don’t really understand,” she said.
“But for those of us out in regional South Australia, firearms are a part of everyday life for primary production, for pest control, for stock management, for sustainable hunting, for sporting.
“A Liberal government will not support legislation that further restricts lawful firearm ownership, or piles extra burden on people who already follow the rules.”
Several people in the crowd asked what the Liberals could realistically do from opposition if they lost the upcoming state election.
Ms Centofanti conceded that it would be hard for the party to stop any changes if they did not control at least one house of parliament.
It would be up to ordinary citizens and the media to highlight the issue, she said.
- Sign the petition: www.tonypasin.com/gunreform.
- More information: For the gun law changes, visit www.ag.gov.au. For the SA Liberal position, visit brightersa.com.au.
