news, national

A clay target enthusiast who ran a carnival shooting range with an Olympian will have his firearms licence restored after their business fell foul of thieves and the law in NSW. Justin Dale, whose partner Susan Trindall represented Australia at the 2004 Olympics and won bronze in the women's double trap event at the 2002 Commonwealth Games, was refused a new licence when his previous one expired last year. That followed an incident during 2017 New Year's Eve festivities at Penrith when one of six air rifles on their 4 Ducks Down mobile range was stolen during a power blackout. While Mr Dale fixed the power and pursued a young man believed to have taken the gun, the range was left under the sole care of an assistant who had undertaken a firearms safety course but did not hold a licence. He told the Civil and Administrative Tribunal he understood he was wrong to leave the assistant on her own but he thought he needed to find the air rifle "as there was a very large crowd". He was away from the range for about 20-30 minutes, returning after failing to find the thief or rifle. Police later found the mobile range's permit had expired in 2012, with Ms Trindall saying she'd made an "honest mistake" in not reapplying for a permit. Mr Dale was convicted of operating an unapproved shooting range and giving a firearm to an unlicensed person but those convictions were dismissed on appeal. He told the tribunal he and Ms Trindall had disposed of the mobile shooting range and he sought his licence only for target shooting. In a decision on Wednesday, tribunal senior member Norman Isenberg ordered the NSW police commissioner issue Mr Dale a firearms licence "for the genuine purpose of target shooting", saying it would not create a danger to public safety. Australian Associated Press

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