Mr Barrett owns farms in Booligal (pictured) and Hillston. Photo: Wikimedia commons.
A Booligal farmer and truck driver who was stripped of his firearms licence and had a subsequent application rejected has won back the right to use guns after launching an appeal at the NSW Civil and Administration Tribunal (NCAT).
Phillip William Barrett, 61, had his licence revoked by NSW Police in 2020 after officers conducted a safe storage inspection of his property and discovered that a Norinco .177 airgun registered in his name was missing.
A year later, he admitted to police that he had ammunition at a property he owned in Hillston – something he wasn’t allowed to store given he no longer had a firearms licence.
When he applied for a new gun licence in 2023, his application was refused on public interest grounds.
According to the published decision on his appeal, NSW Police also argued that a history of domestic disputes involving Mr Barrett’s family, and the criminal history of some of them, was grounds for denying him a licence. The judgement noted that Mr Barrett himself was not primarily involved in these disputes.
NCAT senior member Emeritus Professor Geoffrey Walker overruled the NSW Police decision to deny him a licence, stating that “the evidence does not show that [Mr Barrett’s] possession and use of firearms would now create any real and appreciable risk to public safety”.
“Further, it is in the public interest for law-abiding farmers and graziers to have access to long arms for the protection of the environment and of primary industry,” he wrote.
“The applicant needs a firearm because the property is large and is subject to ferals, including deer and pigs. He needs it for pasture protection and to be able to move from one farm to another.”
Professor Walker felt the missing airgun and ammunition breach were not sufficient to deny Mr Barrett a licence.
“[Mr Barrett] was not charged with any offence for the safe storage and reporting contraventions but was issued only with a penalty notice … which suggests that the matter was not viewed as being of particular gravity at the time,” he wrote.
“The applicant has expressed remorse about the incident and has emphasised that he would never attempt to transfer a firearm in that way again. He has completed an advanced safety course with the Firearms Safety and Training Council, which added specific instruction about avoiding the kind of contravention that gave rise to the penalty.”
Mr Barrett received several positive character references, including from the Mayor of Carrathool, Cr Darryl Jardine, who described him as “reliable, honest and professional” and highlighted his volunteer work.
Professor Walker also noted Mr Barrett’s clean record.
“He has no history of drug or alcohol abuse or of mental health problems and no record of encounters with the criminal justice system other than … the ammunition possession charge. During the 23 years he has held firearms licences, there have been no reports of his using firearms in a careless or inappropriate manner,” he wrote.
“When previously licensed he passed several safe storage inspections without incident.
“Viewing the evidence as a whole, including his high community standing and his reputation for safety in firearms use, in my view the applicant is a fit and proper person to use and possess firearms, and I so find.”
Professor Walker ruled that a Category A firearms licence is to be issued to Mr Barrett.
This allows him to use and store firearms that do not self-load, such as air rifles, rim fire rifles that are operated by a bolt, lever, break or slide action; and shotguns that are operated by a break, bolt or lever action.
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