- Opposition Leader remains hidden in the shadows on important community safety laws
- Senior Opposition MPs make attempts to wind back laws removing guns from serious offenders
- Only the Cook Government will stand up for the safety of Western Australians
Today, the government has reiterated its commitment to keeping the community safe by removing guns from Western Australian streets, particularly from serious offenders.
The Leader of the Opposition will be given the opportunity this week to tell the public whether he supports or opposes Western Australia's new nation-leading firearm laws.
The new laws, which were passed by State Parliament in June last year, are among the toughest in Australia and came into effect last month.
Despite the significant importance of these laws in keeping the community safe, the Leader of the Opposition has refused to act on attempts by senior members of the Opposition to wind back the critical community safety laws.
An attack by the Opposition is underway in both houses of Parliament to quash the laws. Liberal Shadow Minister Steve Thomas has moved a disallowance motion in the Upper House, and Leader of the Nationals Shane Love has vowed to move a similar disallowance motion in in the Lower House this week.
If successful the Opposition's actions would block police from accessing new powers to remove guns from serious offenders, such as family and domestic violence perpetrators.
It is time the Leader of the Opposition took immediate action to protect the laws and spoke out against the disallowance motions, as failing to do so is putting the safety of the community and police at risk.
As stated by Police Minister Reece Whitby:
"The Leader of the Opposition is beholden to his coalition colleagues, whose repeated refusal to back these important community safety laws is a clear indication they are turning their backs on community safety.
"The motion, put forward by the Leader of the National Party, would make WA's only firearms legislation virtually inoperable.
"The National Party's decision to oppose these commonsense reforms is madness.
"The question now is whether the Leader of the Liberal Party will side with the reckless stance of his new Opposition alliance buddies or will he choose to put the safety of Western Australians first, back these sensible reforms, and vote against the disallowance motion."
As stated by Prevention of Family and Domestic Violence Minister Jessica Stojkovski:
"By refusing to condemn motions moved by his own Liberal Party colleagues, the Leader of the Opposition is not just silent, he is complicit in their attempts to wind back these laws.
"The Cook Labor Government is committed to preventing family and domestic violence, investing more than half a billion dollars in prevention since 2017 and enacting significant law reforms, including firearm reform, to keep guns out of the hands of perpetrators and better protect victim-survivors.
"Our government will not waiver in its commitment to ensure firearms are kept out of the hands of those who seek to cause harm in our community. Owning a firearm is a choice. Women feeling safe is a right. The safety of victim-survivors and the broader community remains the Cook Government's highest priority."
