Gun News Australia: the latest news for Aussie shooters

CALIFORNIA GUN TAX - plus Georgie's strategic move and consultation forums.

THE ANIMAL JUSTICE PARTY’S Georgie Purcell has shacked up with Federal Labor Senator, Josh Burns. 
What hasn’t been revealed – until now – is that her new beau, Burns, is the co-chair of an anti-gun group in Canberra.  
It’s a move that also gives the tattooed anti-duck campaigner the opportunity to land another job in politics if she doesn’t get re-elected at the 2026 Victorian State Election.
WE ALSO cover the imposition of a new tax on firearms and ammunition in California which we covered back in September.  The tax is now law, in a move that people like Burns could push for – as goods and services taxes are a federal responsibility.
PLUS, we question whether it is in our interests for shooting organisations to be part of consultation committees where they are required to enter into confidentiality agreements.  That’s because it means governments can silence shooting organisations – by offering cosy meetings with party pies, sandwiches and orange juice. 
We’ve been losing the war against bad laws and policies for decades – and it’s time our shooting organisations pulled out of those committees and spoke up against what is happening to us all.
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WA STATE ELECTION: Nationals turn up heat on slippery anti-gun MP

HUGH JONES is Labor’s MP in the southeastern Perth electorate of Darling Range.  He is notorious for hiding from shooters in his electorate when they want to discuss gun laws with him.  That’s why we’ve dubbed him ‘Houdini Hugh’.
There are 5 or 6 gun clubs in his electorate – which he has actively ignored and refused to meet.  He stood by as Police Minister, Paul Papalia, encouraged shooters to “get another hobby”.
In this episode, we meet Morgan Byas, who is the Nationals candidate for Darling Range who will be looking at knocking off Hugh at the 2025 WA State Election.
We discuss the electorate, what good government look like and what the current approach being taken by the WA government’s might mean for other groups such as four-wheel drivers, fishers and farmers.
MORGAN is a currently serving councillor who knows his community well – and knows what makes the local community tick.
His nomination heralds the opportunity that shooters in WA have to make sure their votes count – as the Liberal and National Party give voters the ability to vote Labor out.
To support Morgan’s campaign – or any other National Party candidate – go to https://www.nationalswa.com/donate/
To email the Nationals, just go to: https://www.nationalswa.com/contact-us/
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SELL OUT: WA Liberals become “Labor lite” on gun laws

WESTERN AUSTRALIA’s new gun laws will come into effect after passing through both houses of WA Parliament. Unbelievably, the WA Liberals voted WITH the Cook Government in both houses.
It was a dumb political move by the Liberals who have turned their backs on the state’s 90,000 shooters who were looking for an effective opposition to challenge the government’s approach.  The good news is that the National Party stood up for shooters, which is something we’re keen to point out as next March’s WA state election approaches.
However the weakness of the Liberal Party is a cancer that we could see repeated in other states & territories, which is why this should matter to every shooter in every state & territory.
PLUS, we cover the upcoming National Gun Conference on 4th August.  The big news is that the event will be streamed LIVE on Facebook and Youtube.  Get your invitation by signing up to our email list where we’ll send you links so you don’t miss out.  The link to sign up appears below.
You can also sign up for updates from Shooters Union Australia at: https://shootersunion.com.au/
If you run a business or shooting organisation and would like to be part of the conference, let us know at editor@politicsreloaded.com
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FLOREAT SHOOTING: WA Police saw it coming. Labor tried to politicise it.

WHEN TWO WOMEN died at the hands of Mark Bombara, the WA Government was quick to politicise the tragedy as a gun issue to further their push to change the state's gun laws.
However everything turned on its head when the gunman’s daughter, Ariel Bombara, revealed she had tried to warn police three times about what could happen.  In fact, she described her father as a ‘real and imminent threat’ to public safety.
We look at what happened and dive into the politics around this event.
The police said they were powerless. We show they weren’t.  Labor tried to use this to sell their message, but no-one’s buying it.
This matter is stark reminder why every shooter needs to be careful who the vote for at elections – because they could be voting for someone who wants to take their shooting sport away from them.
DON'T LET THEM DO IT!  We'll tell you what you can do.
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REDNECKED PATRIOTS: What one of Australia’s top psychologists thinks of licenced shooters

TIM WATSON-MUNRO remains a prominent figure in forensic psychology who is regularly in the media.  He’s covered Julian Knight, Alphonse Gangitano and more recently the Bondi stabbings.
However he’s got a past.
In 1997, he joined the lynch mob that John Howard started, calling ‘huge numbers’ of shooters ‘vigilantes’ – before falling from grace himself.  Over the following 2 to 3 years, Watson-Munro got busted with a cocaine habit and got deregistered as a psychologist.  Yet he’s got his licence back and still being used by the media. 
That’s why we’ve written to Seven’s Sunrise program asking that they stop using him because of his divisive opinions and history.
We’ve also asked Watson-Munro for his comment on our story. In fact, if he’d like to come onto our podcast to refute what we said, then the door is open…
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Shooters Union aims for ‘aggressive’ Qld election campaign

GRAHAM PARK from Shooters Union Australia outlines what draconian new laws being introduced by the Queensland Government means for shooters.
One of the new laws could see your shooters licence suspended for a minimum for 10 years if you post something online that the government doesn’t like.
It’s a dumb move to make in an election year that has some Labor MPs worried that this will cost them support at the ballot box – and we’re keen to make sure that happens.
In this episode, Graham outlines SUA’s response which will involve targetting bad politicians, supporting good ones, and hiring professional help to run its election campaign. In short, politicians from both sides need to REJECT the laws.
In fact, SUA will be approaching EVERY politician in Queensland to get them onside where possible.
If you live in Queensland then you NEED TO ACT NOW by taking the time to let your MPs know what you think.  Shooters Union has provides some really helpful information on how to do this at:  
https://shootersunion.com.au/consultation-open-on-queensland-community-safety-bill-2024/
… and for those on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ShootersUnionAustralia/posts/pfbid0ppxyXT5CcdHXvHHHMVfREXH7u67vqndDQhxyQyimSBi9E3xvEhCCvUnViwttNCHPl?__tn__=%2CO
DON’T LEAVE IT TO THE NEXT GUY TO DO.
PLEASE GET ONTO IT NOW – and get involved in the election by backing SUA.
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DOING THE SUMS: Why knowing where shooters live is important

THE LABOR AND LIBERAL PARTIES could be missing out in votes in key seats they are fighting for by not realising where shooters live.
The release of maps by WA Police Minister, Paul Papalia, in 2022, may have had the unintended impact of showing that the numbers of shooters living in metropolitan areas may be a lot higher than most people – shooters included – might think. 
The maps show that the highest concentrations of shooters are actually in the areas closest to Perth, not in country areas.
These are seats typically contested between Labor, Liberals and the Greens, who might otherwise think that shooters only live in regional areas, which is why they need to take a harder look at where they actually live.
We’ve written to the major parties in all states, other than Qld and two territories, to point this out to them.
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NATIONAL GUN CONFERENCE, Victoria’s duck season … and Papalia’s fascination with vending machines

WE LOOK at why Australian shooters need the National Gun Conference and what it will do.  The conference will be the first attempt to bring a range of shooting interests together to deal with our challenges at a national, rather than state, level. 
It’ll be held on Saturday 3 August 2024.  Find out more by clicking here. 
PLUS, we look at the curious question of why Paul Papalia went from a decorated career in the Navy to running launderettes and vending machines rather than a higher profile job in the private sector.  This, Papalia’s hatred of shooters, and his navy link to former WA Premier, Mark McGowan, is why we’re trying to get our hands on his service record to see if there is something there that we should know about.
We also look at Victoria’s duck season which finishes a few days’ time.
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GUN NUTS: Why this seasoned journalist needs to recalibrate herself

SUSIE O’BRIEN is a journalist for the Herald Sun. She recently wrote an opinion piece following the stabbings at Bondi Junction, casting a wide net over shooters describing them as gun nuts. She recycles the same arguments as anti-gun control groups that 'guns kill people' and 'we don’t need more guns in our community'.
Yet you won’t find any experience or qualifications among those critics: not even a relevant firearms licence, which tells you something about how seriously their views should be taken.
We’ve written this open letter to Suzie to try and explain why we think she’s wrong – and needs to help change the way she talks about the shooting community.
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DUCK HUNTING: RSPCA reneges on key commitment

WITH THE VICTORIAN DUCK SEASON starting this week, we thought we’d do a bit of digging to show how hypocritical our opponents are.
In 2016 and when the RSPCA was put in the spotlight, their CEO, Liz Walker, gave a public commitment to stop advocating against duck hunting. 
Her commitment was “without reservation” – but that didn’t last.  Last year, she told the Victorian Parliament that the RSPCA was firmly against duck hunting and will no doubt pop her head up when this year’s Victorian duck season opens on Wednesday 10 April.
WE ALSO give a quick update on some more traps being set for shooters in WA.
If you would like to attend the Libertarian Party's “Firearms Bill 2024 Roundtable” discussion mentioned in this episode, then simply go to: https://www.libertarians.org.au/wa_events
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