The Sporting Shooters Association of Australia (SSAA Inc.) is calling on leaders of all Australian governments to invest more money in the deradicalisation of terrorists.
The SSAA is calling for increased deradicalisation funding in light of close to 300 would-be terrorists living in Australia, with the number of people in deradicalisation programs jumping almost 20 per cent since the Bondi terror attack.
The Home Affairs Department has confirmed there were 298 individuals in the national counter-violent extremist program as of June 30.
Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke has said the number and complexity of radicalisation cases was increasing as experts warned Australia faced a number of potential threats, including diverse motivations such as religion, left- and right-wing extremism.
“The Government rushed to spend billions of dollars to implement gun buy-backs and other ill-informed measures targeted at the firearm community, when we are not the ones causing harm,” stated SSAA Inc. CEO, Tom Kenyon.
“The Government themselves are publicly saying they’re concerned about the increasing threat of radicalisation of all types, yet their greatest urgency this year was to try and copy 90s-era Howard policy in the hope it would make them look like they were keeping Australians safe.
“The Royal Commission on Antisemitism and Social Cohesion Interim Report stated that nothing in the pre-existing legislative framework prevented intelligence or law enforcement agencies from taking action that may have prevented the Bondi attack.
“Since the Federal Government announced they wanted to undertake firearm reforms in December, all they have managed to achieve is taking a nationally consistent approach to firearm regulation and turning it into a patchwork of inconsistencies right across Australia.
“Last week we watched on as the New Zealand Government implemented new firearm laws that they invested significant time and effort into, fundamentally assessing what will make their country safer in relation to firearms, while Australians are left with political PR stunts and window dressing.
“This is an extremely sensitive issue, and it’s critical that we focus on what will limit terrorism now, and into the future.
“We must focus on the most urgent matters such as what leads to someone committing such abhorrent violent acts, and how our governments are truly protecting us.” Mr Kenyon concluded.