CORONAVIRUS —
SHOOTING SPORTS AND FIREARMS INDUSTRY
326. Hon AARON STONEHOUSE to the minister representing the
Minister for Police:
I refer the minister to the answer
provided yesterday to my question without notice 303 on the new regulations
being brought in to close gun stores. I broadly welcome confirmation that the Western
Australia Police Force continues to issue further information and clarification
as required. It has since come to my attention that South Australia Police has
issued a similar clarification on category H licence holders within its
jurisdiction.
(1) Is the
minister aware of the letter from South Australia Police, reference ''AH'',
issued earlier this week which grants an
exemption for category H firearm holders who would otherwise be required to
attend six shoots per year, with this exemption to have effect for the
next six months and having been introduced specifically to address concerns around
COVID-19 and social distancing?
(2) In the
interests of having a single, unambiguous standard across jurisdictions during
this crisis, will the minister encourage the WA police firearms branch to take
a similar approach here in Western Australia; and, if not, why not?
Hon
STEPHEN DAWSON replied:
I thank the honourable member for
some notice of the question. The following answer has been provided to me by
the Minister for Police.
The Western Australia Police Force
advises the following.
(1)–(2) In
the context of the state of emergency in Western Australia to respond to the
COVID-19 pandemic, police have decided to assist community members who are
required as a condition of their licence to attend
a specific number of club meetings during a calendar year by the licensing
enforcement division, by using police powers of discretion to not pursue
prosecutions for any legitimate breaches of this legislative requirement.
Police provided correspondence to clubs outlining this position on 23 March
2020.