WA Police Minister John Day on proposed Victorian Firearm law changes
5AN radio
11 March 1998
PRESENTER - HAMISH ROBERTSON…Well, while the Prime Minister tries to persuade Victoria not to amend its gun laws, Western Australia has been operating outside the national agreement on gun laws for some time.
From Perth, Lisa Stingel (ph sp) reports:
REPORTER…Since Western Australia passed its gun laws it's never fully complied with the national agreement reached after the Port Arthur massacre. The state simply didn't adopt the provision for a twenty-eight day cooling off period for acquiring a second firearm.
West Australian Police Minister, John Day, says the second cooling off period wasn't considered to be necessary.
JOHN DAY…The reason being that often it's more than twenty-eight days before the licence is actually granted anyway once the police have gone through all the processes, and secondly, it's necessary for the applicant to show that they've got either a genuine need or genuine reason anyway, and so they're not necessarily going to be given that second licence.
REPORTER…Technically that's outside the national gun laws agreement. Has there been any problem with the management of that second cooling off period in Western Australia since the laws were introduced?
DAY…Well, I'm not aware of any problems in Western Australia at all as a result of that particular provision and certainly from what I'm told by police the current system is working very well, and I don't think that there should be any ser…serious concern about the whole system breaking down because of that relatively minor change.
REPORTER…Another amendment under consideration by Victoria is allowing wider access to semi-automatic weapons for members of field and games shooting associations. And in Western Australia, those changes were made last year without any outcry about a watering down of the national agreement.
Western Australia's Police Minister, John Day, says he understands John Howard's concern about cracks forming in the national gun laws, but he says the Prime Minister doesn't fully understand the situation in individual states.
DAY…I can understand his nervousness about the whole situation, but he can't be aware of the details of exactly what's operated in Western Australia, and certainly I would be happy to explain that to anybody who does need to know exactly how thing are operating in a satisfactory manner in this state.
ROBERTSON…West Australian Police Minister, John Day.
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