Tuesday, 2 June 2026

 Katherine COPSEY (Southern Metropolitan) (22:39): (2539) My adjournment this evening is for the Premier, and the action I seek is that she accepts the recommendation to introduce a cap on the number of firearms a person in Victoria can own. Firearm ownership in Victoria is not a right, it is a privilege, and that privilege must always be subject to the overriding objective of public safety. After the Bondi tragedy the Allan Labor government commissioned Ken Lay to conduct a rapid review of Victoria’s firearm laws. Mr Lay, a former Chief Commissioner of Victoria Police, was chosen by this government to provide serious, independent and practical advice on how to keep Victorians safe.

On the key recommendation that directly confronts private stockpiling of weapons, Labor has blinked. Rejecting a cap on firearm ownership is a total capitulation to the gun lobby. It is political cowardice, and it puts short-term electoral calculations by the Premier ahead of community safety. Victorians are entitled to ask why anyone needs dozens or even hundreds of firearms. The review reportedly found that some recreational hunters in this state own up to 68 firearms, while some sports shooters own over 200. 288 – that is not a modest allowance for a genuine purpose; that is, stating the bleeding obvious, a private arsenal. And this is happening in homes and places that are not currently scrutinised across the state. A cap is a commonsense public safety measure. It does not demonise every licensed firearm owner, but it recognises the obvious. The more guns there are in the community and the more they are concentrated in private hands, the greater the risk of theft, diversion, misuse and catastrophic harm, as we have tragically seen in this state.

Instead of showing leadership, the Premier has blinked. The Premier has chosen to protect herself from gun lobby backlash rather than protect the community from foreseeable risk. And this is what happens when a government loses sight of public safety and doing what is right and is more interested in trying to grab on to marginal seats. The Greens have been very clear: Victoria should reduce the total number of firearms in circulation, both legal and illegal; licence holders should have to establish a genuine reason for every additional firearm that they seek to acquire; exemptions should be narrow, evidence based and limited to genuine occupational need, including primary production and pest control; and any transition should be backed by a properly funded amnesty and buyback so excess firearms are removed from circulation safely and fairly. The Premier simply cannot claim to take this review seriously while rejecting one of its most important recommendations. The action I seek is that she reverse this reckless decision, accept Ken Lay’s recommendation and introduce a legislated cap on the number of firearms a person in Victoria can own.