A rise in the number of guns in NSW has sparked concern over how they are controlled, with firearms licences this year handed to people with histories of mental illness and violent behaviour, despite police objections.
The NSW Civil and Administrative Tribunal overturned a decision not to grant someone a firearm once every two weeks in May and June this year, prompting concern from public health experts. Police tried to block those people from accessing a gun because they alleged they had histories of mental illness, schizophrenia, or violent or threatening behaviour.
The number of registered firearms in NSW jumped from just over 1 million in 2020 to 1,112,734 at the end of last year, and some suburbs of Sydney are now home to thousands of firearms. An extra 10,000 people have also been granted a gun licence in that time, with 251,563 now legally able to own and shoot a gun.
Under NSW law, firearms use is considered a privilege and the applicant must be deemed a fit and proper person to own a gun without being a danger to public safety, as judged by the NSW Police. Refusals can be challenged via an internal review, and any final decision can be challenged at the NSW Civil and Administrative Tribunal.
Last year an extra 7000 people listed sport target shooting as the reason for needing the firearms licence compared to 2020.
NSW Greens MP Sue Higginson said the reasons for accessing firearms should be reviewed and novel solutions were needed to make sure suburban homes were not becoming boltholes for guns.
“The data suggests the uptick is because people are using a gun for fun, and this is no laughing matter. It’s very concerning that this is resulting in a concentration of lethal weapons in the community in particular suburbs and localities, such as western and south-western Sydney,” she said.
“Guns for recreation do not necessarily need to be owned personally and stored away from the purpose-built place they are used … When access to guns becomes more commonplace, it is inevitable that people will become more exposed to gun violence.”
Source: 12ft
So clearly the NSW Civil and Administrative Tribunal does not consider that ‘public safety’ includes the safety of women. Women yet again being written out of existence. We are no longer ‘the public’ or part of ‘the public’, a natural consequence one must suppose since women no longer exist as and purportedly no longer exist in science. The women (sic) who fought for women (sic) to be ‘persons’ in that string of cases culminating in the Privy Council 1929 landmark would be astonished, astounded and indeed outraged.