TasFarmers has accused Labor and the Greens of “betraying” regional Tasmania after both parties backed caps on firearm ownership.
The farming lobby’s criticism comes after Labor leader Josh Willie announced his party would pursue a limit of five firearms for recreational hunters and 10 for primary producers and sports shooters.
Willie made the announcement during his reply to Premier Jeremy Rockliff’s state of the state address on Thursday.
He said Tasmania now had more firearms than at the time of Port Arthur and the highest number per capita in the nation.
“Tasmania should not be an outlier on these national reforms because this Liberal government lacks the courage to act,” Willie said.
Greens MP Tabatha Badger welcomed the policy, saying her party had been advocating for similar measures.
TasFarmers president Ian Sauer said the decision showed a total disregard for regional communities.
“There has been no consultation with the state’s farming community, and many in the sector see this as a betrayal,” Sauer said.
“This demonstrates a lack of genuine understanding of the needs of the state’s primary producers and is not backed by science or genuine reasoning.”
TasFarmers said its most recent member survey identified feral species and browsing wildlife as the single biggest issue affecting farm profitability.
Sauer claimed limiting access to firearms would make it harder to manage pests, protect crops and maintain livestock welfare.
“Primary producers and hunters require different firearms for birds, small, medium and large animals, whether that’s shooting in the bush, spotlighting at night or controlling pests across open paddocks or in competition shooting,” he said.
“That means more than one tool in the toolbox.”
He argued existing laws already required firearm owners to justify why their current firearms did not meet their needs before purchasing another.
“That safeguard already delivers stronger community safety outcomes than imposing an arbitrary cap,” Sauer said.
The state government has ruled out imposing caps on individual firearm owners.
TasFarmers said the push for caps was a “distraction” from the real causes of community safety concerns, including extremism and terrorism.
“The establishment of firearm caps will have no impact on community safety but will impact farm productivity and is simply government overreach,” Sauer said.
