The Tasmanian government’s firearms bill is facing an uncertain path through parliament, with Labor and the Greens pushing for tighter controls and the Shooters, Fishers and Farmers Party vowing to vote against it entirely.
The bill, tabled by Police Minister Felix Ellis, grandfathers firearm reclassification so current owners and licence holders face no change and does not include caps on the number of firearms a person can own.
Ellis said the government had received more than 600 submissions, with the majority opposing caps by a strong margin.
“Most states and territories are not actually reclassifying at all,” he said in parliament on Tuesday.
He said the focus was on getting firearms out of the hands of terrorists and criminals through better intelligence sharing and tougher penalties for trafficking stolen firearms.
Ellis said a buyback “would cost Tasmanians $40 to $90 million and it would not get one single illegal firearm off our streets.”
Labor and the Greens will move amendments to introduce caps when the bill is debated next week.
Labor MLC Sarah Lovell said her party did not want “unlimited guns in the community” and that stakeholders including the Australian Medical Association and family violence groups backed caps.
“We’re working through amendments at the moment, but we will be pursuing changes to the bill to ensure that this bill is focused on community safety,” she said.
Shooters, Fishers and Farmers member for Lyons Carlo Di Falco said he would vote against both the caps and the government’s bill.
“Right from the get-go I’ve said no caps, no reclassifications and no more restrictions,” he said.
“We need to make sure that we’re dealing with the right people and the right people that we need to deal with are people who commit crimes with firearms,” he said.
Di Falco brought shooting and hunting groups to parliament to meet members across the various parties.
Firearms dealer David Cowell said his business was already down at least 50% in turnover because of uncertainty around the proposed changes.
“They’re all concerned because they don’t know what’s going to happen and they’re reluctant to make purchases,” he said.
Cowell rejected suggestions the bill had been written for firearm owners, saying it made things fair for everybody.
“The police minister, he’s been really good and has listened to us more so than we’ve ever had any politician in the past,” he said.
Independent member for Clark Kristie Johnston said the bill “inexplicably has some significant changes” from the version released for public comment.
She said the Police Commissioner had not requested the grandfathering provisions and asked who had suggested them and whether Ellis had sought the Commissioner’s advice on including them.
The bill is due to be debated next week.
