‘Knee-jerk response’ to Sydney massacre not OK, they say

TWO petitions, one signed by 12,570 supporters and another attracting 25,552 signatures have been tabled in State Parliament, each urging the Allan Government to call off its “knee-jerk reaction to a terrorist event in New South Wales” and revert to the existing firearm ownership rules.

One of the petitions, sponsored by the Nationals Member for Eastern Victoria, Melina Bath, prompted debate in the Legislative Council on Wednesday, April 1 with supporters in the gallery, including members of the Sporting Shooters Association, the Australian Deer Association, and Field & Game Australia needing to be cautioned by the President of the chamber for applauding Ms Bath’s words at the end of her speech.

The President Shaun Leane did however, thank the members of the gallery for being interested enough to attend the debate.

Ms Bath called on the government to “give law-abiding and responsible firearms owners a fair go, as it considers recommendations from the Rapid Review of Victoria's Firearms Laws”.

The local MP demanded the government protect community safety without eroding the rights of those who are already doing the right thing.

“Every decent Victorian supports public safety, and licensed firearm owners – the most scrutinised cohort in the state – support it as strongly as anyone,” Ms Bath said.

“Law-abiding firearm owners are part of our communities. They contribute to regional economies, to conservation, to food security, and to sporting traditions. They deserve respect, and they deserve a government that distinguishes clearly between them and those who operate outside the law.

“A misguided, knee-jerk approach to the review risks placing additional burden on those who are already doing the right thing, while diverting attention and resources away from the criminal market.”

The debate was triggered by a petition that received 12,500 signatures. Ms Bath echoed the petition in calling for reforms that focus on:

• Real-time, effective national registration systems that support policing.
• Strong enforcement against traffickers and organised crime.
• Continuous monitoring of licence eligibility, so risk is addressed when it emerges.
• And proportionate security requirements based on actual risk—not arbitrary limits.

“These are constructive, responsible, community‑minded proposals, and they stand in contrast to the narrative that too often dominates public debate – a narrative that paints lawful firearm owners as the problem, rather than as partners in public safety,” Ms Bath said.

Bath MP statement draws applause

Here in full is what Ms Bath had to say in State Parliament on Wednesday, April 1: “I rise this evening on behalf of law-abiding firearm owners and the more than 12,500 people who contributed their signatures (to this petition). To everyone who took the time to sign the petition and to those present in the gallery tonight, your commitment to fairness, to evidence and to common sense deserves to be heard.

“Those behind this petition represent a broad cross-section of our community, from farmers to pest controllers to sporting shooters to hunter conservationists to volunteers and to families, both in regional Victoria and in Melbourne, who comply with some of the strictest rules and regulations in the world.

“They are not asking for special treatment. They are not asking for anything out of the ordinary. They are asking to be treated fairly and not as suspects. They have told me this is the truth.

“They are concerned about the direction the Allan Labor government is taking with firearms in Victoria, not because they are opposed to public safety – far from it – but because they are worried that so-called reform may drift into overreach and they are being targeted when the wrong people are not being addressed.

“Every Victorian supports community safety. Licensed firearm owners, who are arguably some of the most scrutinised in this state, support it strongly.

“I acknowledge former police chief commissioner Ken Lay, who said to me that he is committed to evidence-based reform. That has to be the fact. It must be evidence based. This is the pillar, because genuine public safety is not achieved through symbolism, it is achieved by targeting criminals, targeting criminal access, strengthening enforcement and disrupting traffic.

“The evidence is clear: illegal firearms are overwhelmingly sourced through theft, through trafficking, through importation, not through licensed, compliant owners.

“When proposals emerge, such as what we have seen New South Wales adopt, such as arbitrary ownership caps, shorter licence terms or restrictions unrelated to actual risk, people rightly ask: ‘How does this stop criminals?’ Well, it does not.

“The wrong approach risks placing additional burden on those who already do the right thing while diverting attention away from resources and the criminal market that is the issue here.

“This is where principles of proportionality matter. In a free and democratic society regulation should be based on risk, not on assumption. It should respect the rights of law-abiding Victorians who demonstrate time and again their compliance and their responsibility.

“As one stakeholder said, ‘One firearm in the wrong hands is one too many, but multiple firearms in the hands of safe, compliant Victorians do not create a risk.’ That is a commonsense principle. The petition does not call for weaker laws, it calls for smarter ones. It calls for real-time, effective national registration systems that support policing, stronger enforcement against traffickers and organised crime, continuous monitoring of licence eligibility so risks can be addressed as they emerge and proportionate security requirements based on actual risk, not arbitrary limits.

“These are practical and responsible measures that enhance our safety, not undermine the rights of those who follow the law. This is because the petition is not just about regulation, it is about rights and responsibility. The government should not and cannot default to overreach. The lawful Victorians should not be treated as a problem. Policy should be guided by evidence, not assumption.

Law-abiding firearm owners are part of our communities – the very fabric of our good communities. They contribute to regional economies. They contribute to conservation. They contribute to food security and hunting and sporting tradition. We on this side of Parliament respect them enormously, and they deserve our respect. They deserve a government that distinguishes clearly between them and those that operate outside the law. Interjections from gallery.

“I say to the Allan government: do not take the easy path of symbolism. Focus on what actually works: intelligence, enforcement, targeting criminal access and protecting community safety without eroding the rights of those who are really doing the right thing already, because the imbalance is not about good policy, it is about maintaining public trust. These people are part of our community. They deserve our trust. The Liberals and Nationals support our law-abiding firearm owners.”

What the petition calls for

This is what the Field and Game Australia petition, supported by the Nationals' Member for Eastern Victoria, Melina Bath, states:

“The petition of certain citizens of the State of Victoria draws to the attention of the Legislative Council the Victorian Government’s decision to undertake a review of Victoria’s firearm laws which is to be conducted by former Victoria Police Chief Commissioner, Mr Ken Lay AO APM. Public pressure to act quickly may result in rushed or ineffective decisions. Victoria already has some of the strictest firearm laws in the nation and serious incidents have consistently involved failures in intelligence, monitoring or enforcement, often where individuals were already known to authorities, rather than gaps in legislation. Ideologically driven or hasty changes risk unfairly penalising responsible, law-abiding firearm owners without improving public safety or reducing the risk of terrorism or serious crime.

“The petitioners therefore request that the Legislative Council call on the Government to commit to enforcing existing firearm laws, including identifying gaps in compliance, enforcement and resourcing, ensure that the review of legislation is evidence-led and without a pre-determined assumption that further restrictions on lawful owners are required, reject any new firearm regulations unless there is clear, publicly available evidence that it will improve public safety, guarantee genuine consultation with law-abiding firearm owners, sporting and hunting organisations before any policy or legislative changes are drafted and ensure the review separates law-abiding firearms owners from acts of terror so the response is fair and proportionate (12,570 signatures).

Another petition signed by 25,552

Another petition on gun laws sponsored by One Nation’s first-ever representative in the Parliament of Victoria, elected in 2022 to the Legislative Council, Rikkie-Lee Tyrrell MP, signed by 25,552 people has also called on further debate, due by April 2.

The petition states: “The petition of certain citizens of the State of Victoria draws to the attention of the Legislative Council that proposed changes to gun legislation has been a knee-jerk reaction to a terrorist event in New South Wales. The current gun legislation is already sufficient and was not used to prevent this tragedy due to the gunmen already being on the Australian Security Intelligence Organisation's watch list. The proposed changes will only further penalise our legally licensed firearm owners and will not in any way stop terrorist attacks in the near future.

“The petitioners therefore request that the Legislative Council call on the Government to halt the proposed changes to gun legislation and push for tougher measures against non-Australian citizens who do not have the same opinion as Australian citizens and do not want to participate in the country's values and freedoms.”