Member for Buderim and Queensland One Nation Leader Steve Dickson said, “After reviewing the 2017 National Firearms Agreement that was released last week, I was very disappointed with many aspects, including the unfair treatment of our primary producers.

“This document is an agreement between the States and the Commonwealth.  Queensland’s Palaszczuk Government is a signatory to this agreement.  It unreasonably penalises legitimate gun owners and sporting shooters in this State.

“It does absolutely nothing about firearms related crime, drug trafficking and lack of Police powers to tackle criminals in this State.

“What it does do is further restrict and curtail the activities of law-abiding Queensland citizens, including our primary producers.”

Mr Dickson said, “For the average primary producer, a firearm is just a tool, it is a part of daily life, whether it be eradicating feral pests like pigs or dealing with distressed livestock.

“I grew up on a farm and have first-hand experience of the need farmers have for firearms. I am not one of those George Street graziers.

“To quote just one of the new rules – there will be no handgun licences  (Category H) at all for primary producers. So out in the scrub on horseback with no handgun!  Rifles can be cumbersome and dangerous when on riding through the bush on motorbikes.

“There is 14 pages of this nonsense cooked up by bureaucrats in air-conditioned offices, thousands of kilometres from working primary producers.

The Labor Police Minister (and now Minister for Agriculture) Bill Byrne signed off on this. What did he know and when did he know it?

As the Member for Buderim I am more supportive of primary producers and legitimate gun owners than Bill Byrne, the Member for Rockhampton.”

Shooters Union Qld President Graham Park said their members have been calling and emailing the Shooters Union office outraged about this latest assault. “It is shocking to see primary producers continually attacked by this government. First it was vegetation laws that would have decimated agriculture in Queensland and now by wanting to deny farmers the use of effective tools such as Cat H firearms to assist them in humane destruction of livestock and feral pests”.

“One Nation vehemently opposes putting more restrictions on salt-of-the-earth farmers while the drug dealers and Ice pushers do what they want.

“I am calling on all legitimate firearm owners in Queensland to contact their local Member of Parliament and protest this rubbish.

“One Nation will be actively working to overturn this”, Mr Dickson said.

23 February 2017