More than two dozen WA residents own more than 100 firearms each — all approved by police
More than two dozen people in WA own more than 100 licensed firearms, each of which would have been individually approved by police, figures presented in the state legislature have revealed.
Core items:
- Figures presented in State Parliament show some Western Australians are licensed to own more than 100 firearms.
- Shadow Police Minister Peter Collier says the numbers likely relate to collectors and enthusiasts.
- Police Secretary Paul Papalia says these numbers are part of the reason WA’s gun laws are being completely rewritten.
The figures, which provide an insight into gun ownership in WA, were released on Wednesday in response to questions from Shadow Secretary of State for Police Peter Collier.
The figures show that there are 178 people with more than 25 firearms in WA, including 34 people who own more than 50 of them and 26 who own more than 100.
“I have to say I was a bit confronted with the numbers,” Mr Collier told ABC Radio Perth host Nadia Mitsopoulos on Friday.
“Nevertheless, we must have a perspective on this issue.
“And that’s that almost all of these multiple gun owners, I would assume, would be collectors or gun lovers, or there’s a valid reason.”
The president of the rifle club says the numbers are out of context
The numbers do not specify firearm classifications, meaning they could include rifles, shotguns, handguns, or paintball guns.
Arms dealers are not included in the figures either.
Paul Fitzgerald, WA president of the Sporting Shooters’ Association of Australia, said the numbers were high but lacked context.
“We can talk about a person running a paintball business in Western Australia, for example,” he said.
“And there are a number of those, and they might have 300 or 200 paintball markers on their individual license to run this business.”
He said that people who shoot competitively might as well have 10 or 20 different firearms to compete in different divisions.
Firearms require an individual permit
Under WA law, each of the 178 people in WA who own more than 25 firearms would have to obtain a license for each firearm from the police.
In order to obtain a permit for any firearm, an applicant must provide the police with “genuine” explanations for their requirement to varying degrees, depending on the capacity of the firearm.
Applicants wanting to license a low-power weapon must have a “real reason,” while those wanting a high-power weapon license must demonstrate both a real “reason” and a “need.”
The release of the figures follows an announcement in March that the WA government was conducting the “largest overhaul of gun laws in Western Australia’s history”.
According to the government, the number of guns licensed in WA has increased by 60 percent over the past 13 years to 349,000 guns in 2022.
However, the number of gun owners has declined over the same period, suggesting that fewer people own more firearms.
WA Police referred questions to Police Secretary Paul Papalia, who was asked about the numbers at a news conference on Friday.
“I’m surprised there are opportunities under current law for people to accumulate very large numbers of firearms,” he said.
“That’s one of the reasons we’re rewriting the entire law.”
The state government previously said the rationale for the proposed new gun laws was related to community safety.
No further details were released about the nature of the changes. Mr Papalia said consultation on the new laws is ongoing but is not expected to be put before Parliament before the end of 2023.