The Tasmanian Greens today urged for gun law reform to be prioritised this session of parliament given that the review into the Firearms Act 1996, was completed last year.
Greens Police and Emergency Services spokesperson, Paul O’Halloran MP, said that police statistics detailed alarming rates and trends regarding gun ownership levels and urged action to be taken to strengthen laws around hand guns and storage requirements.
“Police statistics last year revealed that 247 firearms were stolen across the state, with only 48 of these recovered,” said Mr O’Halloran.
“It’s past time that Minister O’Byrne publicly release the recommendations from last years’ review of the Firearms Act 1996 and commit to introducing any legislative reforms identified in the review.”
“There have been approximately 10, 000 more firearms registered in Tasmania over the past decade, despite 5300 fewer licensed firearm holders.”
“Tasmania has around 36, 000 license holder, which means that the average number of firearms in an individual’s collection is increasing.”
“It is well known that increased gun ownership within a community leads to increased gun crime.”
“There are cases where professionals may need access to several firearms, but I cannot think of a good reason for having this many guns in the state.”
“Justifiably there is growing concern about crimes involving firearms in the state and we need appropriate action which will address the problem at the source.”
“Action needs to be taken to keep the pressure on reviewing the number of guns in the community, including hand guns, and ensuring the tightest possible storage requirements are in force.”
Paul O’Halloran MP Greens Police and Emergency Services Spokesperson
