Gun Control Australia

The Port Arthur Gun Massacre and the Sporting Shooters Association

  During April 2012 the website of the Sporting Shooters Association of Australia (SSAA) has a message from its National President, Bob Green. His message tells readers about the role of privately owned guns used as a pastime and recreation. April 28th 2012 is the 16th anniversary of the Port Arthur gun murder of 35 people, so Australians may well choose to recall the part played by the SSAA in trying to prevent the introduction of the very successful gun laws that came into operation...

What the Labor Party Did To Victorians

The gun lobby is as insidious as it is deceptive. Note these grubby consequences of the secret deal that the Victorian Labor Party did with the gun lobby in 2006, when it was led by Premier Steve Bracks. Masssive Victorian Shooting Range Secrecy In 2006 a massive set of shooting ranges, under the title of a state target centre, was planned by the Bracks government and major Victorian gun groups. Gun Control Australia’s experience with shooting ranges is that they can create enormous distur...

Guns Are For Killing. And We Don’t Teach Killing At This School

The Steve Bracks/John Brumby government's determination to off-load responsibility for proper training of gun licence applicants during the period 2006 to 2008 is a black mark on a government that in other ways faced difficult decisions with determination. Whether it was pro-shooter bias, carelessness or child-like incompetence by the Bracks/Brumby government is not the focus of this criticism. We hope that investigative journalists will study that deplorable episode in Victoria’s political h...

Will the ALP Recover From its Shoddy Gun Safety Record?

  When in 2006 the then Premier of Victoria, Steve Bracks, decided to attract votes from gun devotees he told them that the National Party had let them down and that Labor would give them what they want. It was in our opinion one of the most unprincipled deals made in the history of Victorian politics.  His actions gave them too-strong a voice in environmental matters, but crucially, it gave them rights to develop a course for Shooters Licence applicants. Passing this course allows yo...

The ALP Betrayal: How long will Victorian hunters go on killing someone every three years?

Victorians continue to pay a high price for the irresponsible deal ex ALP Premier Steve Bracks did with the gun lobby in 2006. In 2006 Premier Steve Bracks set out to woo the shooter vote. He did many things to impress them. Some of the consequences have been a curse to public safety in Victoria. By 2008 John Brumby had become Premier and he signed-off on a crucial aspect of the 2006 deal – the Formation of the Firearm Safety Foundation (FSF). To Gun Control Australia the FSF is a poor ...