The Western Australian branch of the Sporting Shooters Association of Australia (SSAA) has had a win in the face of the heavily maligned changes to the Firearms Act which came into effect yesterday.
The chaotic nature of the changes has seen some law-abiding gun owners significantly disadvantaged, and the SSAA has sought to rectify this.
The latest instalment of the chaos has seen many Western Australian shooters given permission to acquire button and lever release firearms after the buyback closed but before the legislation came into effect. Recently the government, without consultation and with no explanation, decided to make these firearms prohibited weapons and offer no compensation.
SSAA WA immediately rallied shooters and supported them in their efforts to raise their concerns with the government by providing a template for shooters to use to put their concerns to the minister in a factual and effective way.
As a result of the efforts of the SSAA, the Western Australian Government has now acknowledged the need to support licenced gunowners transitioning to the new arrangements via a number of measures including a limited buyback period from 14 April 2025 to 14 January 2026.
The legislative amendments which were debated in the lead up to the state’s recent election have drawn criticism and sparked uncertainty from a broad cross section of the community including firearm owners, conservation groups, and primary producers.
While the State Government has touted this departure from the 1996 National Firearms Agreement as nation-leading, there is concern that the confusion surrounding them will undermine pre-existing effective regulation and hinder the Police Minister’s ambition for “WA to be the safest place in the world to live”.
The SSAA will continue to oppose these laws and their chaotic implementation. The SSAA WA is considering legal options with regard to the legislation.
SSAA WA will continue to hold the State Government to their promise that they will continue to work with gunowners in relation to this issue.