WA government offers firearms owners reprieve on eve of strict new gun laws
Mark Adams says he was only advised this week his .22 rifle was banned. (ABC Great Southern: Mark Bennett)
In short:
Newly appointed Police Minister Reece Whitby has reminded gun owners the government had adopted a "phased and transitional approach" to new laws over the next year.
New laws start on Monday but police will issue temporary licences of up to 90 days to allow gun owners to transition.
What's next?
Tough restrictions on rapid-release guns will come into effect from Monday, with owners urged to hand in firearms.
The Western Australian government has reassured gun owners they will have more time to comply with strict new gun laws that come into effect on Monday.
WARNING: This story contains an image of dead animals.
All rapid release action guns will still need to be surrendered on Monday, however, licensing arrangements for other guns subject to restrictions, will be implemented over a 12-month period.
Newly appointed Police Minister Reece Whitby reiterated the government’s promise, made in late January, for a "phased and transitional approach" over the next year.
It came after many owners said they were given contradictory information from police on whether they could keep certain firearms under the legislation due to come into effect on Monday.
The new laws, billed as "the strictest in the country", came amid a spate of fatal shootings which placed WA's gun safety in the public spotlight.
Banned guns are ready to be shipped to other states where they are still legal. (ABC Great Southern: Andrew Chounding)
Mixed messages
WA Police said a "dedicated transition team" had been set up to contact each firearm licence holder in WA ahead of their license being renewed.
"Firearms licence holders have been supported through the changes, and this support and guidance will continue with transitional arrangements in place from [Monday]," a police statement read.
However, police said the ban on rapid-release action firearms would come into effect on Monday.
Police said those in possession of that type of gun needed to surrender the firearm to police.
Shooter Mark Adams said he received a final notice to hand in a rapid-release .22 used for rabbit control after it was classified as a semi-automatic, four days before the regulations came into effect.
Mr Adams said he received two letters from the police in the same week.
He said one advised him to do nothing, and a second advised him to hand in his .22 by the March 31 deadline.
"That was yesterday, I'm in and out of confusion, as everybody else will be on this subject,"he said.
Mr Adams said he considered shifting to a different licence category as a primary producer but that would require new gun safes and extra security measures including CCTV cameras.
He said those details were still unclear.
"I don't want to be caught again in a situation with where I've got a $5,000 gun and it's going to get chopped up by converting to a primary producers licence and then find I don't conform in that either," he said.
Mr Adams said he wanted the government to pause the legislation until police and the state government provided more clarity to gun owners on licensing, ownership, property letter and storage.
Reece Whitby says he will work with gun owners over the next 12 months. (ABC News: Keane Bourke)
Police Minister Reece Whitby said the government and police would work with firearm owners as changes were implemented.
"While the changes are significant, I want to reassure firearm owners that existing firearm licences will remain valid until renewal,"he said.
He said the government was adopting a phased and transitional approach over the next 12 months.
"To assist them with this transitional process WA Police will contact firearm owners as their licence comes up for renewal over the next 12 months and advise them on the next steps," he said.
WA Police Commander Lawrence Panaia clarified that transitional gun licenses were always part of rollout of the strict new gun laws.
"It was always a part of the plan," he told ABC Radio Perth.
"As we went through, we realised that trying to transition … around 80,000 people over from the old law to the new law would take some time.
"I think we agreed that 90 days would be a good opportunity [for people] to get their license in order.
"Every firearm license holder out there, we will contact.
"We will contact them whether their expiry date is today or in 90 days' time. Everyone will be given 90 days to comply."
Feral control under a cloud
The Oyster Harbour Catchment Group, which carries out revegetation and conservation projects partially funded by the state government, removed hundreds of foxes, rabbits and feral cats during a fox shoot this week.
Heather Adams says blanket bans will impact conservation groups. (ABC Great Southern: Mark Bennett)
The group's chairperson, Heather Adams, said future programs were under a cloud of uncertainty.
There are concerns about how the laws will impact feral animal control. (Supplied: Heather Adams)
"There are still a lot of unanswered questions as far as what's going to be permissible or not with the new gun regulations," she said.
"There are quite a few groups who don't run a feral shoot anymore because they are a bit concerned about liability aspects and the gun regulations being an issue."
The Oyster Harbour catchment includes bushland south of the Stirling Range, considered one of the richest biodiversity hot spots in the world.
Ms Adams said the blanket approach taken by the government would have a flow-on effect on the environment.
"It's an absolutely vital part of feral animal control, we work all year round, not just a once-off annual shoot," she said.
"It's an ever-increasing problem."
Costly feral control
The 12-month time frame has done little to alleviate concerns felt by farmers in the Wheatbelt who use recreational shooters to help manage the feral pig population.
Mark Flannagan is worried the law changes will lead to higher feral animal control costs. (ABC Rural: Jo Prendergast)
Mark Flannagan, who runs a 60,000-hectare property in Pindar, said he used helicopters and aerial shooters three times a year to cover the vast property.
He said having fewer recreational ground shooters would necessitate more air operations at an increasing cost.
"It's $600 an hour for the helicopter plus the shooter, plus the ammunition," he said.
"It gets quite costly doing that. If you're doing that four to five times a year, it's going to be really costly."
Mark Flanagan says he will need to increase heli shoots to control feral pigs. (ABC News: Chris Lewis)
Changes have also baffled national conservation groups which said the blanket bans represented an about-face from the government which previously supported gun-related controls.
Non-profit group Conservation Australia was awarded a $51,000 state government grant in August 2024 to help buy thermal equipment to carry out feral pest control at night.
President Ralph Folie said communication with from different government departments had confused its members.
"One department has given us money, and then on the other hand, we have WAPOL making regulations almost impossible to follow," he said.
Editor's note: An earlier version of this story said the WA government had "softened" its stance on the laws. This was incorrect. Police have clarified a 12-month transition period had been announced in January, and more recent statements from Police and the WA government re-affirmed this plan.