Colin Boyce (Flynn, Liberal National Party) Share this | Hansard source

From the Gemfields to Gladstone, Mount Morgan to Mundubbera and everywhere in between, the Flynn electorate has many gun clubs filled with members of all ages and backgrounds. Today I rise to speak about law-abiding gun owners in the region as well as their clubs and members who promote the safe and effective use of firearms. Data released by Queensland Police Weapons Licensing reveals there are over a million registered firearms in Queensland. Furthermore, there are over 218,000 issued weapons licences to almost 200,000 individual licensees. This equates to about five registered firearms per licensee. Like many people in the Flynn electorate, I have a gun licence as well.

The Flynn electorate has a wide range of shooters and shooter activities including target rifle shooters, smallbore air rifle shooters, clay target shooters and pistol shooters. There are also many licensed rural shooters who use firearms for pest control, hunting feral pigs, wild dogs, foxes, feral cats, deer and goats, which cause billions of dollars of damage to the Australian agricultural sector each year. Licensed rural shooters are critical in protecting food production, safeguarding native ecosystems and biosecurity. Law-abiding gun owners and gun clubs can often be demonised by the media and politicians, but I thank them for the important role that they play in upholding safety standards, supporting regional communities and passing on a culture of responsibility.

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