The Tasmanian Government is pleased to see the establishment of an inquiry into Tasmania’s firearms laws, after an amended motion passed the House of Assembly with tri-partisan support today.

The inquiry will be a good platform for all stakeholder views to be heard.

It is also an opportunity for the submissions already made to the previous Upper House inquiry to be considered.

The select committee will inquire into and report on current firearms laws, with the following terms of reference:

• Current and future firearms licensing regimes, including training and testing, licence renewal, licence infringement and licence categories;
• Compliance with the provisions of the National Firearms Agreement;
• The roles of Tasmania Police, Firearms Services (FAS) and the creation of a broad-based consultative committee;
• Consideration of public submissions to the Legislative Council firearms laws inquiry; and
• Any other relevant matters.

The Government’s overriding principle in relation to any proposed changes continues to be that we will not do anything to undermine the National Firearms Agreement.

Our firearms laws are among the toughest in the world and that is how they should remain, while allowing practical improvements to support the needs of legitimate firearms users.

We look forward to the findings and recommendations of the select committee.