Labor’s shadow police minister Jen Butler has taken aim at minister Felix Ellis over firearms reform, accusing him of being “trigger-happy” and wanting unlimited guns in the Tasmanian community.
Butler’s comments come as the government’s Firearms Amendment Bill consultation period closes on Friday, with hundreds of submissions understood to have been lodged.
She said Tasmania now has the highest rate of registered firearm ownership and the highest rate of firearm theft per capita in the country, with more firearms in the community than before 1996.
“We have had a 104% increase in firearms being used in family violence incidents here in Tasmania,” Butler said.
“We’ve also had over a 60% increase of firearms being used as a weapon.”
Butler was scathing about a social media post in which Ellis posed holding a gun, calling it “really not appropriate” for a police minister.
She said Labor wants a cap on the number of firearms owned by registered holders and an overall reduction.
“No one’s saying that you can’t go shooting anymore in Tasmania if you’re a firearm owner,” she said.
“What we’re calling for is for there to be a cap on the number of firearms that are owned by registered firearm owners in Tasmania.”
Butler said Labor had begun negotiations with independents about potential amendments but had not yet met with the Greens.
“Owning a firearm in Tasmania is an absolute privilege and the rights of our primary producers, professional shooters and recreational hunters, they need to be considered as well,” she said.
“But we must have a balanced approach and always put public safety first.”
Greens MP Vica Bayley also weighed in, saying Ellis was pandering to the gun lobby and calling on the premier to rein him in.
“We’ve had the police commissioner herself call on the government and advise the government to introduce caps and the minister has consistently refused that and is now campaigning for something very different,” Bayley said.
“The Greens have been loud and proud advocating for community safety to be the number one issue and Minister Ellis has put politics and pandering to a minority in our community ahead of community safety and the advice of the police commissioner.”
Government minister Bridget Archer defended the consultation process and said public safety sat at the heart of the draft legislation.
“We have worked carefully in coming to bring forward this legislation to balance a range of considerations, but importantly, putting public safety at the heart of those deliberations and those considerations,” Archer said.
Asked whether the government was open to amending the bill, Archer said that was the normal course for any legislation.
“The government will always endeavor to put out draft legislation that we believe gets the balance right, whether it is on this legislation or any other,” she said.
“We of course then consult with stakeholders in the wider community in the formation of the bill that goes into the parliament and then of course the parliament does its work as well.”
