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from The Age
http://www.theage.com.au/articles/2003/03/02/1046540068041.html
http://www.theage.com.au/articles/2003/03/02/1046540068041.html
Confusion over new handgun crackdown
March 3 2003
By Phillip Hudson
Canberra
Three months after Prime Minister John Howard and Premier Steve Bracks triumphantly declared they had struck a deal to deliver tough new national handgun laws, both governments remain unable to say exactly what types of guns - or how many - will be banned on July 1.
There is still no price list for the proposed gun buyback, and sporting shooters claim that technical details of the agreement have caused the delay.
They fear the final rules now being negotiated are far tougher than expected, will stop Australia hosting world championship shooting events, and will put at risk the competitiveness of Australian shooters on the world stage.
They say this breaks a promise by Mr Howard last year that he would make sure that "participation in legitimate sporting events is not compromised".
Federal Justice Minister Chris Ellison told The Age the Government was reviewing its position. At the same time, at least five Victorian gun dealers face ruin because the long wait for details of the ban has effectively frozen gun sales. They have set up a fighting fund to lobby the Government for compensation.
"There is an enormous amount of confusion," the chairman of the Combined Firearms Council of Victoria, Sebastian Ziccone, said. "In Victoria, there would be between 6000 and 7000 gun owners who have been left in the dark for too long.
"They don't know if their particular gun or shooting discipline is in or out. The Prime Minister and Premier said they'd fixed it, but they haven't and we are very concerned."
Victoria last week became the first state to introduce legislation into Parliament to enforce the ban, but MPs are being asked to approve it without the details, which will be added later as regulations.
The agreement, signed by Mr Howard and all state and territory governments on December 6, allows only legitimate sporting shooters to own guns to a maximum calibre of .38, with a limit of 10 shots and a minimum barrel length of 120mm for semi-automatics.
Single-shot guns and revolvers can have a barrel length as short as 100mm, and a special class of target shooters will be able to own guns up to .45 calibre. This special category is now the key sticking point.
The Federal Government has estimated 500 types of guns will be removed from the community. But it is unable to put an exact cost on the buyback or produce a final list of guns to be banned.
This is because it has not won approval from all governments for events that will be permitted to use handguns with a calibre greater than .38. Those involved in the talks say the Government has adopted a very narrow definition.
They believe it would stop Australia hosting many key world championship events because international competitors could not bring their guns into the country. Australian shooters would also have a severe disadvantage on the world stage.
Sources said the exemption allowing guns up to .45 calibre was only granted for two less-popular shooting events - the metallic silhouette (shooting at a 25 kilogram metal target over a distance of 200 metres) and single action shooting (old-style traditional revolvers that only come in the bigger calibres).
Mr Ziccone said the Government did not want to grant it for two of the most popular disciplines - the International Practical Shooting Confederation (IPSC) and NRA action match. Both involve skilled target shooting against the clock.
"The vast majority of people who compete in these competitions use a calibre greater than .38. They use .40 or .45 and internationally, to be competitive, you have to use the higher calibre,"Mr Ziccone said.
"These are the fastest growing pistol competitions in Australia. They're the ones people are attracted to because they are exciting."
Senator Ellison was recently forced to provide a temporary reprieve to the rule that makes it illegal for overseas shooters to bring competition guns of high calibres into Australia, after lobbying from the Sporting Shooters Advisory Council. This has saved four international events being held before July 1, including a big IPSC event in Sydney over Easter.
But Gary Fleetwood, a spokesman for the Sporting Shooters Association and a member of the Government's Sporting Shooters Advisory Council, said Australia could not host international events or compete overseas if the restriction applied after July 1.
Copyright © 2003 The Age Company Ltd
