Firearms licensing
Mr BOURMAN (Eastern Victoria) (14:24): My question today is for the minister representing the Minister for Police; I believe it is still Ms Tierney. There is considerable debate regarding legislation for the use of recreational firearms. One of the things I would like to hope we all agree on is the need for robust licensing. There is a need in Victoria for a legitimate and genuine reason when we are applying for a firearms licence. The reasons that are generally accepted are hunting and target shooting. Recently I have seen some screenshots of social media posts where it appears that anti-hunting protesters are conspiring to get a firearms licence to enable them to protest in duck-hunting wetlands without fear of prosecution. So my substantive question is: Minister, is evading prosecution a genuine reason for a firearms licence?
Ms TIERNEY (Western Victoria—Minister for Training and Skills, Minister for Higher Education, Minister for Agriculture) (14:25): I thank Mr Bourman for his question and his interest in this area, and obviously I will refer this to the Minister for Police, Minister Carbines.
Mr BOURMAN (Eastern Victoria) (14:25): I thank the minister for her answer. It appears that, although the protesters are somehow technically satisfying the genuine reason requirement by obtaining a game licence, it is clear their intention is to never hunt and never own a firearm but instead just use a licence to evade prosecution and make a laughing stock of our official processes, so my supplementary question is: will the minister immediately initiate the process to weed out those who are getting a firearms licence under false pretences?
Ms TIERNEY (Western Victoria—Minister for Training and Skills, Minister for Higher Education, Minister for Agriculture) (14:25): I thank Mr Bourman for his supplementary, which of course will be referred to the Minister for Police for follow-up.