POLICE — FIREARMS LICENCE APPLICATIONS
1064. Hon AARON STONEHOUSE to the minister representing the
Minister for Police:
I refer the minister to Mr Aden
Kelly's application to the State Administrative Tribunal—CC
2275/2017—for review of the police decision to refuse his application
to add a rifle to his firearms licence.
(1) Is the
minister aware that Mr Kelly's application was supported by a property
letter signed by the lessee of the pastoral lease for the station near
Carnarvon known as Ella Valla?
(2) Is the
minister further aware that the Commissioner of Police argued before the
tribunal that a pastoral lessee was not an ''owner'' of land
within the meaning of section 11A(2)(c) of the Firearms Act, and therefore a property
letter written in support of a firearms licence application was ineffective in
law?
(3) Does the
minister concede that both before and after Mr Kelly submitted his application,
WA police accepted property letters signed by Thayli Pty Ltd and never once
raised the question of whether a pastoral lessee was not an ''owner''
of land within the meaning of section 11A(2)(c) of the Firearms Act?
(4) Can the
minister explain why Mr Kelly and the Ella Valla Station lessee were singled
out in this manner?
Hon STEPHEN DAWSON replied:
I thank the honourable member for
some notice of the question. The following information has been provided to me
by the Minister for Police.
(1)–(2) No.
(3)–(4) I
am unable to provide an answer to the questions under standing order 105 as the
honourable member is seeking an opinion or a legal interpretation or opinion.