news, local-news, lever action shotguns reclassified, nsw police firearms registry, wacka williams adler shotgun, craig mearns calibre country

LEVER action shotguns – “tools of the trade” to the North West farming community – have officially been reclassified into the tightest legal ranking. The Firearms and Weapons Legislation Amendment Act 2017 came into effect on November 1, re-categorising lever action shotguns with a magazine capacity of no more than five rounds from a category A to a category B, and those with a magazine capacity of more than five rounds from a category A to a category D. NSW Nationals Senator John “Wacka” Williams has publicly attacked the reclassification, labelling it “unfair” and “inconsistent”. “My opinion is that it should have been a category B, where farmers could have bought the rifle shotgun,” Mr Williams said on Thursday. “It’s just inconsistent.” Mr Williams recalled when he was confronted by a pack of wild pigs on his Inverell farm, he was lucky to escape unharmed – and said an Adler shotgun could have controlled the situation. “To me, it’s a tool of the trade for farmers, especially for (controlling) wild pigs,” he said. “In a category B, you can get a 10-slot semi-automatic rifle, so it’s inconsistent. It’s a bit unfair in my opinion.” Tamworth licensed firearms dealer Craig Mearns, Calibre Country owner, said local licence holders would not be impacted too harshly. “I think most people here have a category A or B anyway, so it’s not going to affect too many people,” he said. “It might just be a bit of a paperwork headache.” On 1 November 2017, the Firearms and Weapons Legislation Amendment Act 2017 amended the Firearms Act 1996, the Firearms Regulation 2017, the Weapons Prohibition Act 1998 and the Weapons Prohibition Regulation 2017 to provide for the updated National Firearms Agreement. The changes were raised at a community forum for the local shooting fraternity in Tamworth on Wednesday night, organised by the NSW Police Firearms Registry to allow the peak industry bodies to meet and discuss issues affecting the region. The NSW Police Firearms Registry is communicating with all licence holders who own a lever action shotgun to provide details regarding the arrangements that will occur to accommodate each circumstance. Affected licence holders are reminded that while their current firearms licence remains in force, they will continue to be authorised to possess and use your shotgun whilst the transitional arrangements are being finalised. A spokesperson for Police Minister Troy Grant told The Leader in a statement on Thursday the importation ban remained in place. “It is our understanding that the Commonwealth importation ban on lever action shotguns with more than five rounds will be removed once all State and Territory jurisdictions legislatively implement the new classification for lever-action shotguns,” the spokesman said. What firearms are applicable to a Category A firearms licence? What firearms are applicable to a Category B firearms licence? What firearms are applicable to a Category C firearms licence? What firearms are applicable to a Category D firearms licence? ​What firearms are applicable to a Category H firearms licence?

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