One of Tasmania’s newest MPs has flagged a push for gun law changes that would see tougher penalties for firearm theft and allow hunters to use equipment currently off-limits.
Carlo Di Falco, who won a seat in Lyons for the Shooters, Fishers and Farmers Party, says his plan is about bringing laws ‘up to date’ nearly 30 years after the Port Arthur tragedy.
The 1996 Port Arthur massacre, where 35 people were killed and 23 wounded, remains the deadliest mass shooting in modern Australian history.
It prompted sweeping reforms that gave Australia some of the strictest gun laws in the world.
Di Falco wants anyone caught stealing firearms to automatically serve at least three months behind bars.
He is also calling for licensed hunters to be allowed to use suppressors, night-vision gear and thermal scopes.
On top of that, Di Falco is pushing for expanded hunting access across Crown land, including World Heritage sites, to help curb Tasmania’s feral animal numbers through ground shooters rather than costly aerial culling.
His final proposal would introduce bounties for hunters who remove pest species, saving taxpayers millions currently spent on government contractors.
“We’re not pushing anything that’s going to endanger public safety, as a matter of fact, we’re enhancing it,” Di Falco told the ABC.
Similar proposals put forward by the Shooters, Fishers and Farmers in New South Wales have been met with concern by Port Arthur survivor Walter Mikac.
Speaking to the Daily Telegraph, Mikac, who lost his wife and two daughters at Port Arthur, called the NSW reforms “a slippery slope to having more carnage and mayhem”.
“NSW is on the verge of undoing the only positive thing that came out of Port Arthur that day – the political commitment for Australia to have one of the strongest firearm safety frameworks in the world,” he said.
“I’m not opposed to hunting but it is a hobby, it is not a right. Living, being safe, not living in fear you’re going to be shot, they are rights.”
Speaking at the declaration of the writs in Hobart on Tuesday, Di Falco said “freedomism should be a big deal”.
“If we don’t allow people to express an opinion without being shouted down, pretty soon you won’t have freedom of expression,” he said.
“Sooner or later, I’m probably going to pee somebody off. It’s not because I take any joy in poking the bear. There’s just some things that I hold dear and they’re heartfelt beliefs.”
