Latest Firearms Update

I committed to firearm owners last year that I would follow up on the new firearm laws once the new Parliament resumed after the election.

Who could forget those laws that the Cook Labor Government rammed through Parliament?

Yes, those same laws that they said “will be subject to the full scrutiny of Upper House debate, as is normal practice”.

Bottom line, they lied.

In contrast, the Parliamentary record does not lie.

The facts are that the Cook Labor Government arrogantly guillotined debate time in the Upper House, cut off questions, and forced a vote without allowing the Bill the thorough consideration they had promised and which it deserved. 

So, I’m pleased to advise you that I have given official notice to the Legislative Council of a motion to have the Firearms Act 2024 referred to the Standing Committee on Legislation for a full public inquiry.

If this motion succeeds, it will ensure that a specialist committee of the Parliament investigates in detail the provisions of this new Act and the consequences of having rammed a Bill through without full scrutiny.  

Now, at this point keep in mind these things:

The bad news is that the Cook Labor Government continue to have majority control of the Legislative Council up to and including 21 May 2025.

However, the good news is that the Government loses its control of WA Parliament’s upper house on 22 May 2025.

As a result, the earliest opportunity to debate and pass this motion will be Wednesday 28 May 2025.

And you can help us win this motion.

And, here is how YOU can help.

In order for the motion to succeed, we need 19 upper house members to support the motion.

From 22 May 2025, there will be 21 non-government members of the upper house.

From that day, it will be important for you to reach out to all members of the upper house to seek their support for the motion.

And the message is simple: the Government promised the new law would be subject to “full scrutiny” – that didn’t happen and supporting this motion will right this wrong.

After all, if the new law is as good as the former Police Minister insisted it was, what is to be feared from a close review by parliament’s specialist committee?

The issue of responsible firearm ownership is too important to all of us for last year’s firearms fiasco to be the final word on this.

Together we can get this done.

You can find the contact details of the new members of Parliament’s upper house here, but just remember it won’t be updated by Parliament until 22 May when they commence. At that point it’s over to you to request their support as your representative. Because the motion could easily be debated on 28 May, the timing of your advocacy in that 6-day window will be crucial.