Source : Perth Now news
Reporting patients considered a high risk of gun violence will become mandatory under state weapon reforms, but critics say the changes don’t go far enough.
Queensland’s parliament will usher in sweeping law changes this week in response to the Bondi terror attack and Wieambilla shootings.
The Australian Gun Safety Alliance is bitterly disappointed by the response, saying it does nothing to curtail the number of firearms in the community.
“We don’t think they’re gun reforms at all,” spokesman Stephen Bendle told AAP.
“We think that all it does is increase penalties for people who have already done the wrong thing.”
The Queensland government announced the reforms in response to the Bondi attack.
They included making Australian citizenship a requirement for holding a gun licence as well as tougher penalties for stealing, making, trafficking, modifying or possessing illegal firearms.
Premier David Crisafulli has confirmed more changes in response to the Wieambilla shooting inquest findings.
Under a ministerial directive, professional carers in the public health system will be obliged to refer patients who are felt to be at a higher risk of committing violence with a weapon to the police.
Mental health assessments were part of the coroner’s recommendations after six people died in the 2022 Wieambilla shootings including police officers Matthew Arnold and Rachel McCrow.
The reforms were “tough, targeted and focused” on keeping guns out of the hands of terrorists and criminals, Mr Crisafulli said.
“The events at Wieambilla were a dark day for Queensland and we owe it to the victims and their families to make Queensland safer,” he said on Tuesday.
The reforms would also boost police powers to keep guns out of the hands of terrorists and criminals, the government said.
“We are taking action now, with mandatory mental health reporting for high-risk individuals, instead of waiting months for a study,” Health Minister Tim Nicholls said.
“This is about providing police with information about high-risk individuals, from healthcare professionals working in Queensland Health.”
Mr Bendle slammed the “terrible” reform.
“It’s as though these policies have been written by the firearm industry,” he said.
“It’s only for high-risk people in the public health system. Someone who presents at their GP and the GP is very worried about them is under no obligation to tell anybody.”
Existing requirements on weapons licensing applications for people to declare any neurological condition, psychiatric disorder, psychological issues and alcohol and drug history will also be strengthened in the new legislation.
It follows the state’s rejection of a proposed federal gun buyback scheme.
Slogans including “from the river to the sea” and “globalise the intifada” will also be outlawed in an Australia-first as part of laws targeting anti-Semitism set to be introduced in Queensland parliament.
It has sparked protests in Brisbane, with people rallying outside Queensland parliament on Tuesday.
The Queensland Council for Civil Liberties dismissed the proposed legislation as an “attack on freedom of speech”.
“Banning any slogan in public protests particularly gatherings that does not contain an immediate incitement to violence is an unjustified attack and limitation on freedom of speech” Mr O’Gorman said.
