Shooters Fishers and Farmers Party MLC Robert Borsak repeated his call for Police Minister Troy Grant to publicly rule-in or rule-out any changes to New South Wales legislation from the new National Firearms Agreement (NFA) that were quietly released online last month. So far Mr Grant has been silent.
Mr Borsak’s latest call comes after it was revealed that one section removes “participation in… such major sporting events as the Commonwealth Games, Olympic Games or World Championships” from the genuine reason to own and possess a pistol or handgun.
“Gladys Berejiklian wants Sydney to host the 2022 Commonwealth Games, after Durban was stripped for the right to host it, but this could backfire on the Premier,” Mr Borsak said.
“We will be the laughing stock of the sporting community if elite competition pistol shooters from around the world are arrested when they step off the plane at Sydney airport because the Government has not considered the impact of changes to the law.
“Legal protections for competition pistol shooters in Olympic and Commonwealth Games events have been removed from the latest National Firearms Agreement. I fear that every State Government – including New South Wales – will blindly follow suit when it comes to ratifying these changes in their own laws.
“Section 14 (a) of the new NFA no longer defines participation in Olympic and Commonwealth Games events as an ‘approved club’ – the prerequisite for legally owning and possessing a pistol for sporting shooting. This protection remains for longarms but has been omitted for pistols.
“Police Minister Troy Grant must publicly rule-in or rule-out this, and other, changes in the NFA to give firearms owners certainty and to ensure that world class competitions can continue.
“Governments keep using firearms law changes as a way to boost popularity, but they don’t think of the flow-on consequences and only restrict the activities of licenced, law-abiding citizens, not criminals with illegal guns.”
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