news, local-news, Roland Browne, gun control Australia, parliament, politics, Rosalie Woodruff, Mark Shelton, Tasmania

A gun control advocate has called for the parliamentary inquiry into Tasmania's gun laws to be dismissed as the committee faces another delay. Gun Control Australia vice president Roland Browne said the committee could not fulfill its purpose because two of its members have not heard all the evidence. Related: New cabinet sworn in With the inquiry's chair Liberal Lyons MHA Mark Shelton appointed to cabinet in Sunday's shuffle, the committee will have to appoint a new member to replace Mr Shelton when Parliament resumes on July 30. This follows delays to the committee as the result of the resignation of another committee member, Liberal Braddon MHA Adam Brooks, in February. "We've got one committee member who has only heard half the evidence, and we are going to have to have another committee member who has heard none of the evidence," Mr Browne said. "This is now one and half years of the Liberal government's firearms policy being a mess." Mr Browne said what was needed instead of this "faux" committee was to focus on strengthening gun laws. Related: Passionate plea on Tasmanian gun law changes Greens police spokeswoman Dr Rosalie Woodruff said the new police minister needed to take a strong statement on gun safety and rule out changing the state's gun laws. Dr Woodruff said she was concerned about Mr Shelton's appointment because, during his time as chair of the firearms committee, he had consistently taken a position of supporting the convenience of rural shooters and had asked questions that sought to weaken gun laws. "It is both the evidence of Tasmania Police and from health professionals that we need to uphold our strong gun laws and not make any changes," Dr Woodruff said. With a new member needing to be appointed to the committee, Dr Woodruff said it was unlikely the inquiry would wrap up by its September deadline. "This is the second time the Liberals have pushed back the deadline for this firearms inquiry," Dr Woodruff said. "Tasmanians want to have security to know there will be no changes, at the moment the prospect is still there." Mr Shelton said as police minister he would not do anything to weaken gun laws, as had been repeatedly stated by members of the government. "As the newly sworn in minister, I am getting down to work with briefings and meeting key stakeholders as my priority in coming days and I look forward to delivering on our plan to keep Tasmanians safe and deliver essential services," Mr Shelton said. Mr Browne said during the inquiry to date, Mr Shelton's questioning had been nudging toward weakening gun laws. "The police minister's job is public safety and protection. That is not achieved by appeasing the gun lobby and the convenience of farmers," Mr Browne said. "We don't want to see guns made more available." Mr Shelton was contacted for comment.

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