Introduction by Croakey: More than 100 firearms have been seized in a raid targeted at so-called sovereign citizens across Western Australia, an operation that authorities say was sparked by the fatal shooting of two police officers in Victoria, ABC reported this week.
Meanwhile, recent events in the New South Wales highlight the importance of ongoing vigilance to protect gun control efforts, according to Stephen Bendle, Senior Advocacy Advisor at the Alannah & Madeline Foundation and Convenor, Australian Gun Safety Alliance.
Before the NSW Parliament is “the most regressive piece of firearm legislation introduced into any Australian Parliament in over 30 years”, he says, describing it as “a blatant power grab by the shooting industry”.
This is the first in a series of articles on gun safety issues, with other articles to cover firearm theft, privately made firearms and the growth in firearms in Australia.
Stephen Bendle writes:
In 1996, the murder of 35 people by a single gunman at Port Arthur in lutruwita/Tasmania sparked sweeping reforms to firearm legislation, culminating in the National Firearms Agreement (NFA) – a landmark framework that has kept Australians relatively safe from gun violence for nearly three decades.
Recently – in a move that defies logic, public safety, and process – the New South Wales Government backed a Shooters, Fishers & Famers Party Bill that threatens to unravel those hard-won protections.
One sunny day in Coffs Harbour Premier Chris Minns was asked a seemingly innocuous question about bounties for pest control. The very next day Robert Borsack MLC from the Shooters Party introduced the Game and Feral Animal Legislation Amendment (Conservation Hunting) Bill 2025.
The Bill is a greenwashed and thinly veiled wish list from the gun lobby, masquerading as environmental policy.
It is, without doubt, the most regressive piece of firearm legislation introduced into any Australian Parliament in over 30 years, and it deserves to be called out for what it is: a blatant power grab by the shooting industry.
Invasive Species Council CEO Jack Gough was one of the first to publicly criticise the “dodgy deal” for putting “politics before conservation, ideology before evidence and lobbyists before the public good”.
Environmental commentators outlined the Shooters Party “demands”, including:
- Legislating a new “Right to Hunt”, that would join the only other legislated rights in NSW, the right to vote and the right to an education
- Forming a new Conservation Hunting Authority, controlled by hunting organisations, and already funded in the 2025/26 budget papers. The Authority would rekindle the maligned Game Council that was acrimoniously abolished in 2013
- The legislating of a new Minister for Hunting when no other cabinet position is determined by legislation
- The opening of Crown land, forest areas, some local government land and other public lands to hunting in what some are saying will turn NSW public land in to “game parks”
- Increased access to silencers and other prohibited items.
Public safety at risk
Shooting industry blogs were describing this as the biggest victory for hunters for two decades. I wrote an opinion piece published in The Sydney Morning Herald under the headline, ‘Shooters want a ‘right to hunt’. How about a right not to be shot?’
Former Prime Minister John Howard AC, the architect of the 1996 gun reforms, said the Bill should not be supported in any form.
On its first Reading, the Bill was supported by all major parties with very little debate. It took considerable advocacy, both publicly and within the halls of Parliament House, for the Legislative Council to narrowly send the Bill to an Inquiry.
The Inquiry heard concerns from family and domestic violence advocates and animal welfare experts. Pest control experts provided evidence that outsourcing pest control to recreational shooters would have little impact.
The inquiry heard evidence from the Government’s own independent advisers on these matters, the Natural Resources Commission, that they were not consulted on the Bill.
Despite overwhelming evidence that the Bill put public safety at risk and would have little impact on pest management, the Government-led Committee published the Inquiry Report, which made no recommendations about the content of the Bill.
State of play
However, after meeting with Walter Mikac AM, whose wife and two daughters were killed at Port Arthur, and who played a pivotal role alongside Prime Minister Howard in the 1996 gun reforms, the Premier walked back some key elements of the Bill.
An open letter was published on the opening day of Parliament in September and more than 3,000 letters were sent to local MPs from concerned citizens.
At the time of writing, the Government is still keeping the “Shooters on side” by continuing to publicly support the Bill. But they have refused to give the Shooters Party any government time to debate the Bill.
The Liberal Party changed their position and said they could not “support a tax-payer funded NRA-style lobby group”. The Nationals, seem to be split on the issue, with many members that I’ve spoken to being eager to stop the Bill. Their position seems more problematic in their seats contested by the Shooters Party and One Nation.
The Greens and Animal Justice Party are vehemently opposed to the Bill. Not many Upper House crossbenchers see any public merit in the Bill.
The Shooters Party withdrew the Bill from scheduled debate on 17 September, but it remains on the Notice Paper and can be introduced at any time.
Call for help
We will remain vigilant across all jurisdictions as they are pressured to water down Australia’s strong gun laws.
Australia has a well-resourced, influential and organised shooting industry. They have elected representatives in many Parliaments around Australia.
As you all know, there are few resources available for prevention advocacy in Australia.
Through the Australian Gun Safety Alliance, the Alannah & Madeline Foundation supports a position for one day per week to advocate across nine jurisdictions on issues of firearm policy, legislation and regulation.
The health sector includes key advocates for public health, health promotion and harm prevention, and has played a significant role in strengthening the Australian Gun Safety Alliance and enabling it to be heard by governments around the country.
If you would like to add your organisations’ voice to this work reach out to info@gunsafetyalliance.org.au.
Together, we can ensure that Parliaments are there for all of us, not just for the influential few.
Author details
Stephen Bendle is an experienced executive within the public health and community development sectors. He is the Senior Advocacy Advisor for the Alannah & Madeline Foundation. He is a Director of Mansfield District Hospital and also a Director of Holstep Health, a community health service that resulted from the merger of Banyule Community Health Services and Merri Health. His recent roles have included being CEO of YMCAs in Victoria and NSW, and a senior executive for YMCA Australia. He was also the General Manager of Dolly’s Dream. Bendle has a Bachelor of Education and a Master of Science and is a Graduate of the Australian Institute of Company Directors. He is a Registered Health Promotion Practitioner, and a member of the Public Health Association of Australia and the Australian Health Promotion Association.
See Croakey’s archive of articles on gun control
