Andrew Gee (Calare, Independent) Share this | Hansard source

I am unable to support this bill, and I won't support this bill. One of the issues that many in our electorate have is that this has been a political response to the horrific crime that was perpetrated on 14 December 2025. Many have noted that the government's first reaction to this atrocity was to call for firearm reform rather than a royal commission, which would shine a light on exactly what happened here. It smacked of a political response and the avoidance of scrutiny. This has caused widespread anger amongst law-abiding gun owners in our region who believe that the government has unfairly targeted them, rather than uncovering all the facts that led to this evil crime.

One of the questions that many people in our communities have raised is how it is that terrorists were allowed by the New South Wales government to have access to licensed guns in circumstances where they were known to the federal security services as having links to extremists as far back as 2019. They're also asking questions such as why the terrorists' recent trip to the Philippines didn't raise any red flags. Our police and security services do an extraordinary job in keeping our community safe from threats that we never even hear about. We will never know how many attacks were prevented, but this one got through, and we need to know why so that we can stop it happening again. I know that our communities are united in finding answers to these questions; however, the answers don't lie in rushed legislation with no community consultation.

The only scrutiny of this legislation occurred through a committee process which the major parties exclude the crossbench from. That's right: the major parties unite to exclude the crossbench from the Parliamentary Joint Committee on Intelligence and Security, which is the parliamentary committee that ran a ridiculously brief inquiry into this legislation. At the same time the sun is setting on their old political empires, they won't even countenance crossbenchers on the committee that examines this very legislation. The committee's report was only made available minutes before this debate started, yet here we are voting on this bill. It's breathtakingly arrogant, and it makes a mockery of parliamentary processes.

In Calare, we have more than 17,000 firearm-licence holders. The government has rushed these changes through without giving our regional Australians the chance to have their say. This is not the way to make good policy. We need to make sure that any changes to our gun laws are evidence based and actually address the problems they are trying to solve. The government's current proposal fails this test. It's a political response that unfairly targets law-abiding gun owners.

There are elements of the government's proposed reforms that most people in our community would support and I do too. These include the reforms to firearms background checks, which would enable Commonwealth intelligence to be shared and considered as part of firearms licensing decisions. Most Australians would be surprised that this is not already occurring, and this is a failure of successive governments and the major parties. I would also support the transmission of firearms information between relevant stakeholders to facilitate a criminal intelligence assessment being made.

I do, however, remain concerned about the consequences of a number of measures in the bill and the potential unintended consequences for law-abiding gun owners, including farmers, veterans, professional shooters, members of our community gun clubs and local businesses. This is no John Howard-style gun buyback, and the flaws in the compensation arrangements—particularly for legitimate, law-abiding firearms businesses—are there for all to see. The undeniable fact is that criminals are not the ones that are going to be handing in firearms as part of a buyback. What our communities would like to see is a comprehensive national effort to tackle illegal firearms and the trade in them. Sadly, the government did not take the time to consult with regional communities and rushed this legislation out while at the same time resisting a royal commission until the weight of public opinion simply became too great.

I will continue to stand up for law-abiding gun owners in the Central West, and I will continue to hold the government to account on this issue. Unfortunately, this rushed response was born out of a desire to avoid the scrutiny of a royal commission. Everyone in our region supports genuine measures to make our community safer, but we need a response that is based on evidence and facts, not politics. This should be the government's priority, not targeting law-abiding citizens.

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