Manjimup rifle shooters concerned about potential impact of new gun laws on recreational shooters and farmers

Farmers and recreational and sporting shooters gather on a Sunday morning to practice target shooting 400 yards in a serene open bush area in Palgarup. It is an activity which has a long history in the area, with Manjimup Rifle Club member Mark Milentis one of 24 shooters who practice together and compete against other clubs across the State. Members, who are also part of the South West District Rifle Association, are a mixture of men and women of all ages who practice target shooting with new technology which reflects their accuracy and compares the shooters to one another. Mr Milentis highlighted the history of many rifle clubs. “After the First World War (the army) put these here as they thought it was easier to train people to run and jump than to shoot rifles,” he said. Mr Milentis said back in the day, hundreds of people would dress up for a picnic on the range and practice together. “It’s a lot of history — 1901 is the (founding year of the) Western Australian Rifle Association,” he said. “It’s the second oldest sport in the world, the oldest sport is horse racing.” But in light of the new gun laws passed in State Parliament last month, the shooters fear they could be in the firing range of restrictions. The new Firearms Act seeks to remove thousands of guns from the community as the State Government works to ensure holders have a legitimate reason for owning a firearm. The rewrite of the 50-year-old laws also introduced mandatory disqualifying offences and orders to remove guns from serious offenders and domestic violence perpetrators, following the murders of Jennifer and Gretl Petelczyc in Floreat in May. Mr Milentis said the new laws would not affect the club “at this stage” but he was concerned there could be changes which will impact recreational shooters and farmers. “Before, if we were licensed for a property and someone rang us up and said ‘can you come around and get some foxes eatin’ my sheep?’, we could go around there. Now we have to get authorisation,” he said. “(The State Government) said ‘farmers will be able to do that’. Farmers work all day. It’s daylight to dusk, and what are they going to do? They are going to go straight to bed. They don’t want to be wandering around at night.” Fellow club member Allan Trease said recreational shooters “supply a very good service” to farmers and regional WA. “The government’s record of controlling pests is pretty poor,” he said. “We’ve got that many ferals running around out there that farmers rely on recreational shooters.” Mr Trease is a recreational and professional shooter of 15 years and a committee member of a biosecurity group. He said before the law reform, recreational shooters had a list of the farmers who required their services for pest control such as foxes and pigs. “It was a paper list. They’d sign the paper list and away you go. Once you sell the property, you take that off your list. It was that simple,” Mr Trease said. “But now (the Government) are making it too hard. It’s as simple as that.” Police Minister Paul Papalia said the new gun laws accommodate legitimate and responsible use of firearms, but public safety has been elevated to the primary consideration above all other factors for the first time. “The consultation process was long and extensive,” he said. “It involved WA Police engaging with gun owners, peak bodies and safety advocates on more than 100 occasions over a two-year period.” Mr Papalia said a Primary Producers Advisory Board was established and involved throughout the creation of the new laws to account for their member’s specific operational needs. The minister said the board was created to be the “principal authority on providing advice” and feedback to the Government on “behalf of farmers” in the lead up to the new firearms law being passed.