news, local-news,

Five people have had their firearms taken by Tasmania Police due to the appearance of the guns, following the introduction of new guidelines. The Firearms Categorisation Guidelines, which were finalised earlier this year, now state that any firearm which substantially duplicates a machine gun or submachine gun could not be given a licence. Assistant Commissioner Richard Cowling said the nation’s police services agreed to look at their own data following a review of the 2014 Sydney Siege. He said even though the single-shot firearms did not operate in the same way as an automatic weapon, they could still look the same. “A total of five people have been contacted by Tasmania Police in relation to the possession of prohibited firearms, based on their appearance,” he said. “None will be able to keep them as they are firearms for which a licence may not be issued in Tasmania.” Each firearm is assessed on a case-by-case basis and the process is ongoing.

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