Yesterday’s refusal by Daniel Andrews to adopt recommended improvements to Firearms Prohibition Orders (FPOs) is the latest failure on Victoria’s firearm laws and has placed the safety of the community at risk.
Yesterday, the Andrews Labor Government failed to adopt key recommendations of the Legislative Council’s Legal and Social Issues Committee report into Victoria’s Firearms Prohibition laws.
These failings include a refusal to review the performance of the FPO within two years and failing to provide the Chief Commissioner with greater flexibility to issue FPO’s in a timely manner – as is done in New South Wales and South Australia.
Labor’s failure to adopt these reforms come as the FPO rollout continues to stall, with only 181 of 2,200 identified FPO targets issued with an FPO in the first 12 months of the scheme, compared with an average of 730 a year in NSW for the last 5 years.
This failure on FPO’s come as gun offences continue to spike under Daniel Andrews, with firearms offences up 13.6 per cent and prohibited persons possessing a firearm up almost 38 per cent.
Yet again, Daniel Andrews has dropped the ball on Victoria’s firearm laws, giving a green light to violent, armed criminals and placed the safety of the community at risk.
Comments attributable to Shadow Minister for Police and Community Safety, David Southwick:
“Labor’s failure to keep illegal guns out of the hands of criminals is putting community safety at risk.
“Daniel Andrews has once again failed on community safety, and instead given the green light to violent, armed criminals.”
