But SSAA WA president Ron Bryant told WAtoday several approved companies were government-only, others didn’t service regional WA and some had stopped taking on new firearms customers due to the changes: “They’re saying ‘this is too bloody hard’.” “You cannot get any firearms or any firearm product north of Geraldton at the moment,” he said. The costs that now come with transporting firearms made sales to eastern states traders near impossible, Mr Bryant said. “A used firearm say worth $500, to advertise that on the Australian market to sell it to get rid of it out of WA, where before it cost you before $40-$100 to transport it east ... it now costs you over $300 to transport it,” he said. When announcing the changes, WA Police Commissioner Chris Dawson pledged to review the move in 12 months, but firearms industry figures say action needs to be taken now.

A joint letter addressed to Police Minister Michelle Roberts in June — signed by Mr Bryant, Shooting Industry Foundation Australia executive officer Rod Drew and WA Firearm Traders Association president Bevan Steele — called for an “urgent independent evaluation and review” of the policy. The letter claimed the policy had been changed “at least three times in the past 12 months” and had not addressed challenges faced by the industry when transporting firearms. “Most approved commercial carriers do not have statewide coverage or unrestricted carriage,” the letter read. “Some approved carriers are not opening new accounts, one major approved carrier has indicated to its customers it will no longer transport licensed firearms in WA and Australia Post is still not an approved carrier.” There had been an increase of up to 50 per cent in freight costs, the letter said, WA businesses faced a “significant reduction” in sales, eastern states suppliers did not have an approved carrier for regional WA and rural locations in the state did not have access to freight options.

It is understood the lack of access to freight for rural WA businesses has seen traders drive for hours across the state to collect firearms. Previous SSAA SHOT Expos have brought thousands of visitors through the door. Credit:Sporting Shooters' Association of Australia All this has led to nervousness about getting companies to come west for October’s SHOT Expo. “We are getting a lot of reluctance from the big suppliers and the people that want to come from east, [saying] ‘oh my god I’ve rung the firearms branch, and it’s all too bloody hard, and I’m considering not coming’,” Mr Bryant said. The bi-annual expo, first held in Perth in 2014 and again in 2016, is billed as the nation’s biggest shooting, hunting and outdoors event.

Mr Bryant said the Sydney event in June this year brought in nearly 17,000 people, while the Perth event had previously drawn visitors from Australia’s north and as far afield as South Africa. But the transport fracas has seen only two out of the five major distributors in the market commit to the Perth show, he said. Ms Roberts was pressed on the policy by North West Central MLA Vince Catania in Parliament on Thursday, June 28, with the Nationals MP urging the Police Minister to initiate a review on what he dubbed a “very serious matter”. In response, Ms Roberts said she understood when the policy changes were first discussed in 2016, “many people who should have been part of that consultation process were not included”. “I can see why there would be requirements for some approval process; we would want to know that firearms were being carried safely within Western Australia,” she said.

“I have raised this issue with both the former commissioner of police, who was in the position when the changes were initially made, and the current commissioner.” Ms Roberts said she had “not been happy” with the number of complaints she had received about the issue and there had seemed an early assumption “that Australia Post would naturally have been an approved carrier” due to its dominant role transporting firearms in WA and across the nation. She relayed comments from Deputy WA Police Commissioner Stephen Brown that police were close to a solution that would see Australia Post become an approved carrier. “I have been waiting for that to happen for a long time and I feel pretty frustrated that it has not happened so far,” Ms Roberts said. “I confirm for [Mr Catania’s] information that this is not a role that I, as minister, can interfere with.

“The Commissioner of Police has to enforce the Firearms Act 1973 and he has to approve the carriers. I cannot direct him to approve a carrier.” Ms Roberts said she believed the solution for many of the issues lay with Australia Post’s approval as a carrier, which could alleviate the problem for regional traders. Responding to WAtoday inquiries, a WA Police spokeswoman said there were currently 15 approved carriers in the state, after police redefined policy regarding commercial carriers and approved warehousemen. “The object of this ongoing work is to ensure efficient systems around carriage or storage of firearms while ensuring community safety at all times,” the spokeswoman said. Three options are available to owners and traders when it comes to transporting firearms: using an approved carrier, transporting the firearms themselves, or having a customer collect them when they are licensed to do so.