Responsible firearm ownership advocate John Tingle passed away at 90 years of age this month. The Shooters Party founder and well-known and respected journalist was elected to New South Wales parliament in 1995. He sought to represent the firearm owners in this way to oppose the unnecessary tightening of NSW gun laws and remained in parliament until 2006 when he resigned with health issues.
Despite crossing over to politics, John identified as a journalist to the core.
He started working as a journalist at the age of 18 in the Riverina region at 2QN Deniliquin before moving to the ABC. He spent 17 years with the ABC before working in commercial radio across many stations along the east coast of Australia.
John had three children Peter, Sally and Laura with his former wife of 22 years Pam Chivers, who he met while working for the ABC.
The Sporting Shooters’ Association of Australia (SSAA National) Board and Staff extend their condolences to the Tingle family and friends. John stood as a voice of sensible moderation, called for evidence-based policies, and worked to prevent knee-jerk legislation being passed without consultation.