Gun News Australia: the latest news for Aussie shooters

SSAA KNIFES WA GUN RALLY: ... and the sneaky anti-rally rumour

WE EXPOSE how key elements of the SSAA WA have ‘crossed the line’ by opposing the second pro-gun rally being held on August 14 to fight against that state’s firearm laws. 
The shocking behaviour follows the SSAA WA’s opposition to the first rally held in February in the lead up to the WA State Election to protest against the new laws.
We have been told that senior SSAA WA people are telling customers not to attend the rally, because it supports a “disallowance motion” in parliament that would overturn the new regulations. 
We understand they are being told this would result in there being no laws, which force police to seize ALL GUNS AND AMMO.
** The claim by those people is FALSE ** 
IF SUCCESSFUL, the disallowance motion would force result in the old regulations being returned, which would force the government to the negotiation table to come up with a better solution.
Let’s be clear  - No parliamentary party would ever support there being no gun laws!
WA shooters need the disallowance motion to succeed.
IT IS IMPORTANT that shooters in WA attend the rally, being held on the steps of Parliament at 11am on Thursday 14 February, and show their support to tank the new firearm regulations.
WE ALSO have a SPECIAL OFFER for SSAA WA members.  If you’re a member and attend the rally wearing your SSAA shirts and caps to show your support, email us at editor@politicsreloaded.com and we’ll give you a YEAR’S MEMBERSHIP for free. 
Either way, it’s critical that if you’re a member of SSAA WA, that you get rid of your president, Paul Fitzgerald.  In our view, Fitzgerald has consistently worked against important pro-gun initiatives and shown more support for the WA Government than for the shooting community. 
Show this video to your SSAA WA club executive (send them a link so they can watch it) – and ask them to work with other clubs to move an urgent motion to get rid of him.
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MORE WA GUN RALLY DETAILS: And busting the “disallowance” lie

WA’S LARGEST GUN RALLY will be held at the steps of WA Parliament in Perth this coming Thursday 14 August, to support the ‘disallowance’ motion to wipe out the firearm regulations which are causing so much pain for WA shooters.
This will be the SECOND GUN RALLY in the one year!  That’s a feat that has not been seen in any Australian city before. The rally in February was the BIGGEST PRO-GUN RALLY in WA in nearly 30 years – but is a record that will stand for barely 6 months!
WE INTERVIEW the rally organiser, Dave Finnie, about why the rally is being held, how to get involved and explain why it is safe to attend.  This follows the February rally where people who spread rumours about police and media hassling shooters - were simply proven to be untrue.
ANOTHER RUMOUR we address is the claim that disallowing the regulations will create a regulatory vacuum which will result in WA Police seizing guns, ammo and shutting everything down.
That’s completely FALSE, FALSE, FALSE! 
We read the explanation given by Dr Brian Walker that the Interpretations Act 1984 simply brings the old regulations back into force while the government is forced back to the negotiation table.
YOU NEED to be at the rally. Bring your family, bring your shooting mates and stand proud for all shooters!  If you’re a member of a shooting organisation, put your colours on and show your support.
It’s at 11am, this coming Thursday 14th August, at the steps of Parliament in Perth.
Turn up and make your anger towards what the government is doing to the shooting sports known.
THE FUNDRAISER to support the rally with newspaper ads is at: https://www.gofundme.com/f/stop-the-overreach-newspaper-advertising-rally   The organisers have helped pay for the ads out of their own pockets – so any help you and your shooting organisation can provide would be greatly appreciated!
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WA’S 2ND PRO-GUN RALLY: We speak with the organiser and give you the info you need

WE SPEAK with David Finnie, about the upcoming pro-gun / pro-freedom rally being held in Perth to put a stop to that state's new gun laws.
This is the SECOND pro-gun rally being held in Perth this year, which is why we’re calling on EVERY SHOOTER to roll up to make their voices heard.
David is also the principal petitioner of the motion to suspend enforcement of the new legislation, which is being sponsored by upper house MP, Dr Brian Walker MLC. 
We need 30 to 50,000 signatures, so sign the petition by clicking here.
Dr Walker will be a key speaker at the rally, which is being held at Parliament House at 11am on Thursday 14 August.
This is also an invitation to WA’s major shooting organisations to get behind the cause.
HE HAS ALSO SET UP a GOFUNDME fundraiser to help pay for ads in WA media to let as many shooters as possible know about the rally.  Each full page ad in the major papers could cost up to $30k – so we’re aiming to raise enough for two full page ads.
To donate to the fundraiser, simply click here.  
David has also set up details to enable shooters to email their local MPs, which you can see by clicking here.
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PETITION TO SUSPEND WA FIREARMS ACT: Dr Brian Walker MLC tells us how it works & how you can help

WE SPEAK WITH Dr Brian Walker MLC, a member of the Western Australian Upper House of Parliament, about the petition he is holding to help WA shooters who are being targeted under that state’s new Firearms Act 2025.
Dr Walker petition’s petition seeks to suspend the operation of the Act, suspend enforcement of some aspects by WA Police, and force an audit to be done of the transitional provisions of the new Act.
We speak about the reason for the petition, the synergies he sees between his party, and the draconian approach WA Labor has taken to shooters.
Dr Walker also shares his view that WA police have “imported” immigrants who have a fear of guns into their operating model.
We also talk about the upcoming pro-gun rally to be held in Perth on August 14th, which we will be covering in more detail in the upcoming days.   
This will be the second major pro-gun rally to be held in Perth this year!
You can read Dr Walker’s petition – and sign it – at: https://www.parliament.wa.gov.au/Parliament/LCePetitions.nsf/petitions/25-0016
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WA SAFE SPECS ‘WITHDRAWN’: Why the new WA gun laws face a serious legal hurdle

AN AUSTRALIAN STANDARD, which is the basis of the new requirements for safes in WA, was REVOKED several years before the new laws came into effect.  
This serious oversight could render some of the new laws ineffective – and could make it impossible for WA police to prosecute gun owners under the new storage laws.
The Firearm Regulations 2024 relies on AS/NZS 3809:1998 for Grade V safes – but that standard was formally withdrawn by Standards Australia in 2019.
This is not only a serious oversight by the Cook Government, but WA Police’s legal team and that state’s Parliamentary Counsel who are supposed to vet regulations before they come into effect – and pick stuff like this up.  It’s also something that Kate Fantinel’s team of legal eagles missed.
IN THIS INTERVIEW, we speak with Wayne Lopaten, who checked into the requirements he thought would apply to his firearm collection and found the blunder before coming straight to Politics Reloaded. 
This is in addition to our leading discoveries of the RAAF closures from the 50 cal stunt at Pinjar Range and the reverse engineering of the maps that revealed the location of licensed shooters.
The stuff up could pose serious problems for WA Police if they try to enforce the new laws because it references a non-existent standard - that any court would find less than amusing.
The status of the standard can be seen at: https://www.standards.org.au/standards-catalogue/standard-details?designation=as-nzs-3809-1998
That page clearly says the standard was withdrawn – in 2019.  It shows that drafting the new regulations involved ‘copying and pasting’ from some other source – or writing by someone who didn’t bother to check to see what the current standards are.
It also leaves suppliers of safes without guidance on how they can make the products they produce – which can only have downsides with the supply of compliant safes.
Please note we are not lawyers and this is not legal advice.  If you are facing legal action from WAPol, you might want to show this video to your lawyer.
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NATIONAL GUN CONFERENCE: We need six eminent panel members

THE 2024 NATIONAL GUN CONFERENCE proved how important and useful it can be to have key industry leaders work together and agree on a way forward to help the broader shooting community work to fix the stark political problems we face.
The outcome was so promising, that the result of the conference set up the agenda for the next conference.  Then we had the additional lessons come out of WA.
Check out this excellent summary of what came out of the conference: https://youtu.be/ByiP_Kb4h7c
HOWEVER, a roadblock to doing this is the fact most organisations were simply never set up to take on political fights. 
They mostly exist to run ranges and events, which is fine – but it makes it hard, if not impossible, for them to join the fight.
It means that the people we need to hear from, are often held back by others on their executives who are less comfortable going outside of what they do. That’s fine – but the political problems we face keep growing, which has to stop.
AT THE SAME TIME, there remains a lot of people in the shooting community who have the expertise we need without those encumbrances - who we need to hear from.
That’s why the planning committee has taken the decision to set up a panel of firearm policy experts to drive the next conference.
With their help, we aim to help the broader shooting community understand what our challenges look like, what can be done about it – and bring around the changes we need to see.
IN THIS SPECIAL EDITION OF GUN NEWS AUSTRALIA, we look at this in more depth – and put the call out to hear from those who can bring their critical knowledge and experiences to the table, as we plan for the next conference.
Whoever those people may be, they need to have strong backgrounds and experience in government policy and in the political processes that define the environment we’re in.
MAKE NO MISTAKE about it.  The NGC is the only forum that exists that seeks to engage with the broader shooting sector to get key information on what we can do to address our problems, to every single shooter.
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BUY A SPARE SAFE: WAPol’s crazy new house moving tip

DAMON MATTHEWS is butcher in regional WA of 35 years who uses firearms in his work.
He also helps locals dispatch other animals where they may be unable to do that themselves.
When he recently moved house, police turned up as he was moving his firearms and ammunition – and promptly took them off him because they were, in their view, ‘unsecured’.   
AS DAMON EXPLAINS, the police take the view that Damon needed to buy a second safe, have that installed, then move everything into the new safe before moving the old one.
In what is clearly a ridiculous and vexatious move, this has left Damon without his key tools of trade, and a legal fight which will go to court in mid-August.
Damon also explains that with around 300 clients, he will need around 1,000 property letters, as many farmers and others have more than one property.  
This, in an environment, when registering on WAPol’s portal is almost impossible to do and where property owners are simply turning away from being prepared to provide property letters because of the complexities now in place.   
Damon has an important tip that WAPol should take up to fix that – if it’s interested in treating shooters like customers.
WA needs to introduce a new registration plate logo: The State of Red Tape.
THE CURRENT SITUATION leaves his area without a butcher who can do his work, property owners who may have sick animals that the police, councils and rangers either can’t or won’t help out with, which is a cruel new policy of the Cook Government.
This is a story that the Western Australian Parliamentary Standing Committee on Legislation that is currently reviewing the new legislation needs to hear.
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TASMANIA: How the Liberals "conned shooters"

THEY CONNED SHOOTERS IN 2018 & 2024 by reneging on promises to help firearm users, but the Tasmanian Liberal Party has done nothing but try to dump more red tape on shooters ever since.
TASMANIA’S fifth election in eleven years will be held on July 19th.  The Liberals, who are desperate to hang onto government after losing its premier in a no-confidence motion, will be equally desperate to convince shooters that voting for them is the way to go.
IN THIS EPISODE of Gun News Australia, we speak with a face who will be very familiar with GNA viewers, Phillip Bigg, Independent Candidate for Lyons, about the issues facing shooters.  
Not just at this election, but for the next 20 years as Tasmanian shooters aim to regain lost ground.
Phillip talks about Tasmania’s Police Minister, Felix Ellis, refusal to engage in sensible debate and discussion with that state’s shooting community after the appalling way the Tasmanian Liberals broke promises and have now made the licensing application and renewal processes more complicated than they need to be.
In the lead up to the interview, Phillip put key questions to Ellis, seeking his response by 29 June.  Ellis failed to respond, which tell us whose side he’s on (or not on).
WE also talk about suppressors and the perception that dogs the issue. That’s because many politicians think that what they see in the movies is the truth, without being remotely prepared to consider why that may not be the case.
Major shooting organisations provided letters of support for Phillip’s proposal to hold a ‘demonstration’ for politicians.  Unfortunately, SSAA Tasmania refused to join them.
IMPORTANTLY, Phillip has committed to, if elected, introducing a bill into parliament to fix the key issues that the current Liberal Government won’t.
Our message to other shooting organisations is even if you prefer not to get involved in politics, this is a time when what you do – or don’t do – will affect the future of your sport.  That’s because sitting down and doing nothing will simply let the political attacks continue.
That’s why we recommend shooting organisations realise the position they’re in and (quickly) get behind Phillip Bigg, as the election approaches.

WA REVIEW – SUBMISSIONS NOW OPEN! Here’s what you need to know

JULY 4 is the deadline for shooters and others who wish to make a submission to the WA Firearms Review.
We take you through where to find about the review and the process for making a submission.
PLUS we take you through what we have submitted.
You can find out about the review at:
https://www.parliament.wa.gov.au/Parliament/commit.nsf/WCurrentNameNew/100B093DBC8DCE5A48257831003B03A5?OpenDocument#current
…and send your submission to:
Standing Committee on LegislationParliament House4 Harvest TceWest Perth WA 6005
Ph: 08 9222 7386
Email: lclc@parliament.wa.gov.au
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AUSSIE CONSTITUTIONAL GUN OWNERSHIP: NSW Upper House MP ignites a war on the major parties

NSW MP JOHN RUDDICK MLC has tabled a pro-gun motion in that state’s upper house that is set to ignite a broader debate over whether people should be subservient to their government, or vice versa in meeting the needs of the people.
It’s a philosophy that has seen the US grow into the great nation it is today - by promoting rights and creativity - while Australia has gone in the other direction.
John’s journey in politics isn’t accidental. Starting as a staffer in the Howard Government, John soon realised that the government’s approach to guns – and freedoms generally – was wrong.
In his words, his approach hasn’t been to incrementally defending firearm ownership, but to ‘go on the attack’ against those who oppose firearm ownership.
The facts John presents are irrefutable – but whether that is enough to persuade the major parties to at least listen and engage in a mature debate remains to be seen.
Unfortunately, the track record of the major parties suggest they will not, but we see this as a really healthy and welcome debate to start.
The motion may be about guns (and whether or not you agree with the specific motion), but it’s just one example of where this debate can go. This is going to be an entertaining and illustrative debate that kicks off in the next month or so.
Even YouTuber, TopherField, went from supporting Howard’s position on guns, to opposing it.
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