Nationals WA leader Shane Love.
Nationals leader Shane Love says the WA Government must extend the transition period for the Firearms Act 2024 following the Auditor General’s damning revelation that the firearms portal would not be fully built until December 2026.
“Labor rammed the Firearms Act through Parliament without proper planning or consultation,” he said.
“Now the consequences are blowing up in their face.”
Mr Love said the system was already more than two years behind schedule and more than $10 million over budget.
He said the Auditor General had simply confirmed what law-abiding firearms owners have been saying for months: the portal was an expensive, dysfunctional mess.
“This portal is nowhere near operational,” Mr Love said.
“It is delayed, broken and burning through taxpayer funds. At more than $35 million, it is a complete waste of public money.”
Mr Love said law-abiding Western Australians were being forced to use a system that barely functions and would not be finished for another eighteen months.
“How can any Government expect people to comply with laws enforced through a platform that does not even work?” he said.
“This is not just a glitch. It is a colossal failure of governance. Labor was so desperate to score political points they ignored the basic need for a working system. And now, responsible and law-abiding firearms owners are having to wear Labor’s incompetence.”
WA Police minister Reece Whitby said Mr Love was spreading “misinformation” resulting in “unnecessary fear” in the community.
“WA Police continues to take on feedback from firearms licence holders to improve the system,” he said.
“The Cook Government’s changes to WA’s 50 year-old firearm licencing regime were long overdue, WA Police have moved the management of licences from a manual paper-based system to a safe and secure digital platform, which ensures we are compliant with a future National Firearms Register.
“This was always going to require significant investment.
“It means greater safety for the community and the ability for firearm owners and land managers to update details and grant hunting permissions for licensed firearms owners.”
