Dr Joe McGirr voted against the bill, saying it did not address the issue of antisemitism. Photo: Facebook/Joe McGirr MP.
‘Twas the night before Christmas when all through Parliament House, politicians voted to pass a bill that restricted gun ownership and use in NSW — a response to the recent terrorist attack in Bondi.
Under the new laws introduced by the NSW Labor Government, most licensed gun users are now only allowed to own up to four firearms, while farmers and professional shooters are limited to 10. Previously, there was no set limit.
Furthermore, certain guns that can fire many shots without reloading (like pump or straight-pull action) are being banned or made harder to own.
Firearm users also must now renew their licence every two years (instead of five) and non-citizens can’t own any guns except under exceptional circumstances.
While a majority of MPs (including those from the Liberal Party) supported this bill, it was opposed by the four Riverina-based MPs – Wagga’s Joe McGirr and Wes Fang, Griffith-based farmer Helen Dalton and Cootamundra’s Steph Cooke. Summing up their opposition, here are extracts of what each MP told NSW Parliament.
Wagga MP Joe McGirr
There has not been sufficient consultation with gun owners in the crafting of this legislation. The legislation is rushed and does not address key issues about the circumstances in which the killers were able to obtain those guns. It does not address the issues of antisemitism.
Taken together, those facts mean that this bill is, frankly, in the realm of the performative, and that concerns me deeply. I do not believe that the victims, their communities and their families deserve that.
Wagga-based Upper House MP Wes Fang
There are obviously questions about what role Labor played in assisting a terrorist to get a firearms licence three years after he made the application. It was only after Labor came to government that that terrorist got his firearms licence. There are questions that have not been answered by this Government. Instead, there has been misdirection. Here we see a bill rushed through Parliament as a distraction from what has actually occurred.
If anyone needs further evidence that it is a rushed bill that has been cobbled together… it is the fact that there has been absolutely no consultation with affected stakeholders, particularly about the firearms provisions.
Wes Fang has accused Labor of misdirection. Photo: Wes Fang/Facebook.
Griffith-based Murray MP Helen Dalton
Rural New South Wales will not accept being scapegoated for failures that occurred elsewhere. Licensed firearm owners respect the law. We respect firearms. We understand, better than most, that guns are not toys. I support sensible measures that genuinely improve public safety. But we in rural Australia have one clear message to this Government: Do not punish the innocent to cover up a systemic failure.
Firearms in rural Australia are working tools; they are not accessories … During outbreaks of feral pigs, wild dogs, foxes or deer, rapid access to appropriate firearms is critical. Delays cost money. They threaten food security and biosecurity, and they cause environmental damage.
Cootamundra MP Steph Cooke
There is no trust left in this Government on issues like this. People in the regions have watched this pattern again and again. They have watched decisions made here in Macquarie Street through a city lens, with city assumptions about how people live. They have watched government talk about consultation and then ignore what it is told.
When a government does not understand rural and regional communities, it ends up treating us like a problem to manage, not a part of New South Wales to respect.
This bill reeks of that attitude. It is not right to punish lawful people for the actions of criminals.
