Thursday, 4 August 2022

Firearm and ammunition seizure

Mr QUILTY (Northern Victoria) (12:23): My question is for the minister representing the Minister for Police. In 2021 a financial dispute led to a false domestic violence intervention order against a Leigh Creek resident named Sam. Without any investigation, police from Ballan seized Sam’s firearms and his store of ammunition. For firearm owners an accusation is all that is needed. Sam asked the police to count the ammunition they were taking, but they refused, so Sam took photos of the seized items as they were loaded into the police cars. The police property receipt for the seizures quotes ‘various ammunition’ but does not record the quantity or type taken. Police were forced to return Sam’s firearms and ammunition when the allegations were proven to be false in court. Again he took photos to document what he got back. The firearms came back damaged, but more alarmingly over 60 000 rounds were missing without explanation. The missing rounds were more valuable, factory-loaded ammunition. Sam’s lower power home reloads were returned. Minister, how did police lose tens of thousands of rounds, and where did this missing ammunition end up?

Ms Tierney: President, I seek your advice in relation to whether this is actually a matter for the Minister for Police.

The PRESIDENT: Can I have a look at the question, please? Minister, it is correct. The question is to police.

Ms TIERNEY (Western Victoria—Minister for Training and Skills, Minister for Higher Education, Minister for Agriculture) (12:25): Thank you, Mr Quilty. I note that this is a very detailed individual complaint where there are very serious allegations. You continually bring these individual complaints to the house, and in terms of this particular issue it is compounded by a number of allegations. So I will refer it to the Minister for Police, consistent with the President’s ruling, and I am sure that he will provide a response within the standing orders.

Mr QUILTY (Northern Victoria) (12:26): Thank you, Minister. I brought a number of issues like this to the former minister’s attention. Each time, then minister Lisa Neville responded with a dead bat: ‘Nothing to see here; go lodge a formal complaint through IBAC’. Sam did lodge a complaint to IBAC. After months of inaction, Sam’s case became one of the 70 per cent of police misconduct cases that IBAC refers back to the police. Without telling Sam, IBAC passed on a complete copy of the allegations and evidence to the professional standards command. PSC then handed the case back to the local police involved. Unsurprisingly the police investigated themselves and found they had done nothing wrong. There has been no further progress. Sam has written to Shane Patton, Victoria Police’s chief commissioner, but has not even received a written acknowledgement. Sixty thousand rounds in police custody have gone missing and no-one seems interested in investigating where they went. There is a systemic failure in holding VicPol to account. Minister, what will you do to address the clear cases of corruption like this, cases that VicPol just cover up?

Ms TIERNEY (Western Victoria—Minister for Training and Skills, Minister for Higher Education, Minister for Agriculture) (12:27): I will refer this supplementary to the minister.