The Western Australian Labor Government continues to reap what they sow in relation to their chaotic and misguided legislative changes related to firearms.
Shane Love MLA, the leader of the Nationals WA has committed to move that the Firearms Regulations 2024 (Firearms Regulations 2024) be disallowed, having described the Regulations as flawed with “rushed processes, poor communication, and outright contempt for regional communities.”
Mr Love has also highlighted the recent pushback from the Royal Australian College of General Practitioners (RACGP) who have raised serious concerns about how the Firearms Authority Health Assessment requirements (FAHA) will affect GPs.
“Regional GPs are already under resourced and under pressure. This legislation puts them in an untenable position where they will be forced to make a judgement call on the future behaviour of people who reside in their communities.”
This is on the back of Nick Goiran MLC, the WA Shadow Attorney-General, recently giving notice that he will move for the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Legislation be directed to inquire into and report on the Firearms Act 2024 (Hansard Daily: Legislative Council – Tuesday, April 29 2025). If this motion is successful, it will ensure a specialist committee of the Parliament investigates the provisions of this new Act in detail.
This ongoing support for the firearms community is warmly welcomed, although the challenge for both motions is the numbers in the respective houses of the WA Parliament.
While the ALP have a dominate hold on the lower house, the upper house will see a shift in numbers as of 22 May 2025.
The ALP will have their numbers reduced by six seats, giving the opposition and crossbench greater opportunity to influence outcomes.
Beyond this, the SSAA WA and the WA Firearms Community Alliance have now been re-engaged by the new Minister for Police, the Hon Reece Whitby MLA as a raft of issues emerge following the extensive missteps by his predecessor.
While diverse issues related to the new requirements have previously been highlighted, this week WA Firearm Traders Association President – Mr Bevan Steele, brought to light the serious issue of months-long waitlists for new safe storage firearm cabinets in Western Australia, as existing law-abiding firearm owners are now forced to remain compliant with replacement firearm storage requirements.
SSAA WA is thankful the Minister and his team have committed to working constructively with the peak body for firearm users in Western Australia, albeit with a significant set of challenges in front of him to overcome the rushed mess he has inherited.