Annastacia Palaszczuk’s third Police Minister in less than two years, Mark Ryan, has decided the best response to a Parliamentary e-petition on Category D weapon restrictions is to host a “firearms forum” in early 2017.
After nearly two years of inaction, it’s too little, too late, Minister.
A closed-door roundtable with select invitees isn’t the kind of consultation about weapons policy that sporting shooters, dealers, recreational shooters and primary producers have so desperately needed.
Unlike Labor, which dances to the tune of inner city greenies and is out of touch with regional Queensland, the LNP has been in continual discussion with these groups.
Issues such as the classification of the Adler shotgun, category H licensing renewals and stronger penalties for gun crime have been at the forefront of this debate over the past two years and Labor has been missing in action.
Under Annastacia Palaszczuk, the police portfolio has been a game of musical chairs.
This kind of tokenism is exactly why the shooting community is fed up with Labor.
They do one thing in Canberra and say another thing when they meet with shooters in Queensland.
The LNP doesn’t take its riding instructions from Canberra and we will do what is in the best interests of Queenslanders.
That’s why proper consultation is so important and unlike Labor, we respect the rights of the 190,000 licensed firearm owners in Queensland.
The Palaszczuk Labor Government should be focusing their attention on criminality and non-compliance rather than law abiding firearm owners who do the right thing.
Deb Frecklington - Deputy Opposition Leader
