Former Shooters, Fishers and Farmers Party MP for the Agricultural Region, Rick Mazza, has launched a petition against the State government's gun reform policy, describing the Firearms Bill 2024 as "a wolf in sheep's clothing".
The petition has more than 28,000 signatures after opening on April 10, about a quarter of the amount of licensed gun owners in WA.
The petition calls for a full public inquiry into the reform to assess its impact on personal liberties, namely around private property and the right to silence.
Mr Mazza argues there are multiple instances within the bill which infringe the rights of law-abiding gun owners.
"The firearms community rarely has the public's sympathy however, where Western Australians should be shocked, alarmed and outraged is the extent to which this government has gone into excessive state control," Mr Mazza said.
"It beggars belief that the government has gone in with a very heavy handed approach to this bill."
In 2016, thorough consultation took place via the WA Law Reform Commission during its review of the Firearms Act 1973.
The Commission received 1244 submissions, and formed 143 recommendations.
These recommendations were not taken into consideration when drafting the Firearms Bill.
Mr Mazza said this report should have been the blueprint of the bill.
In its report, the Commission stated, "the vast majority of firearms users in Western Australia are law abiding and the Commission certainly has no intention of recommending legislative change that could make it more difficult for firearm users to abide by the law while having no practical purpose to meet the objects of the Firearms Act".
"Further, harm prevention is distinct from punishment," the Commission said.
"That is, the harm prevention aims of the legislation should be achieved in such a way that as little burden as possible is imposed on people who are complying, or seeking to comply, with the Firearms Act."
The petition has been extended until next Monday, May 6 and is on track to be one of the biggest petitions signed in recent years.
In June last year, the petition against the Aboriginal Cultural Heritage Act received 29,000 signatures, attracting major attention.
"There's a lot of interest in it, a lot of people are very concerned," Mr Mazza said of the latest petition.
Liberal Party MLC and petition facilitator, Nick Goiran said he was interested in working productively with Mr Mazza on what could be done to address community concerns.
"Now that we have an e-petition that is only the second one in WA history to exceed 20,000 signatures, the question becomes, how many signatures will it take for the Cook Labor Government to pause and listen?" Mr Goiran said.
He said the full request for a full parliamentary inquiry and consultation was reasonable due to a lack of urgency around the bill.
"The bill is self-evidently not urgent and indeed the parliament has no time in its upcoming schedule, which is customarily dominated by the State budget, to sensibly deal with this until after the winter recess in August," Mr Goiran said.
He also referenced the repeal of the Aboriginal Cultural Heritage Act.
"I would like to think (Premier Roger Cook) had learnt his lesson following the shambolic rollout of the Aboriginal Cultural Heritage laws last year," Mr Goiran said.
"We will soon find out if there is to be a sequel performance."
The petition can be signed via parliament.wa.gov.au.
Perri Polson
Perri is an agriculture journalist with Farm Weekly. Born in regional Victoria, Perri developed a love of regional and rural news at a young age, and is now passionate about advocating for the agricultural industry. Her interests include science, agronomy, livestock and food production.
Perri is an agriculture journalist with Farm Weekly. Born in regional Victoria, Perri developed a love of regional and rural news at a young age, and is now passionate about advocating for the agricultural industry. Her interests include science, agronomy, livestock and food production.
