The Hon. IAN GILFILLAN: I seek leave to make a brief explanation before
asking the Attorney-General as Minister for Justice a question relating
to firearm legislation in South Australia.
Leave granted.
The Hon. IAN GILFILLAN: Many members would have been horrified by the
article in the Saturday Advertiser describing three firearm events in America,
including the horrific slaughter by Kip Kinkel. Coincidentally, there was
another story of a student shooting himself in the head and of a teenage
girl who was shot in another incident in a different location. This comes
on not long after the anniversary of the Port Arthur massacre, so it is
appropriate that it is in the minds of all Australians what risk the proliferation
of firearms poses to ordinary citizens in this country.
With that in mind, it was with interest that we noticed in recent times
the Police Minister and the Premier being on the record as supporting proposals
to amend South Australia's gun control statutes. In a ministerial statement
in another place on 24 March, the Premier said that Australia does not
have uniform gun laws. He pointed to a couple of discrepancies: first,
the 28 day cooling-off period between the purchase of one firearm and another,
and so on, and, secondly, the widening access to semiautomatic firearms
to allow members of field and game associations to have the same access
as clay target shooters. I point out that clay target shooters are very
much confined locality operators, whereas field and game associations,
by their very name, roam a much wider area and should not be considered
in the same category.
There was also publicity in the Sunday Mail of 15 March which outlined
the push to grant junior firearms licences to children as young as 12 years.
It is extremely pertinent to reflect that it is children with access to
firearms that have caused these tragedies in the United States, and of
course this is just one example of a continuing series.
The aim of the question to the Attorney is to elicit, if we can, the
Government's position. Given that this issue will be discussed next month
at a national conference of Police Ministers, what position will South
Australia be taking at this meeting? Is it the South Australian Government's
position that uniformity in gun laws is to be achieved at virtually any
costóin other words, a diluting or watering down to the lowest common denominator?
That would mean that this Government would have to introduce and seek Parliament's
support for the abolition of the 28 days, the lowering of special licences
to age 12 years and to the relative proliferation of semiautomatic weapons.
I therefore ask the Attorney:
1. What will be the Government's position as expressed at the
Police Ministers' meeting?
2. Will he give this Council and the people of South Australia
an assurance that the Government will not in any form promote or support
any dilution of the current firearm control legislation?
The Hon. K.T. GRIFFIN: The Minister for Police, Correctional
Services and Emergency Services is the Minister who will be attending the
Australian Police Ministers' Council.
The Hon. Ian Gilfillan interjecting:
The Hon. K.T. GRIFFIN: Let me finish. He has the responsibility
for the administration of the Firearms Act. I can say that the Government's
position has already been put down quite clearly: that we are committed
to strong firearms legislation and we would like to see a uniformity of
approach, recognising that there is not uniformity. The Government is not
intent on watering down gun control laws. In respect of the conference
itself, I will obtain a response for the honourable member and bring back
a reply.
The Hon. IAN GILFILLAN: I desire to ask a supplementary question.
Can the Attorney indicate to the Councilóyes or noówhether the Government
supports the removal of the 28-day cooling off period? Does the Government
support the extension of the semi-automatic weapons to the Field and Game
Association and the lowering to 12 years of the age for special juvenile
licences?
The Hon. K.T. GRIFFIN: The honourable member wants a yes or no
answer: it may be possible to give that to him when I bring back the reply.
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