Yep its kinda looking like its happened and if it is as it appears, then we have a very serious legislative breach that undermines our legal & legislative framework. Now this is not Zimbabwe but side stepping the law in the smallest possible manner is just as serious and the worst may be yet to come.
How & what's happened in WA?
Well Australia Post, our official national post entity, has somehow been dropped as an "Official Carrier" by the WAPolice for freighting firearms around Western Australia. Information how this has happened or why is pretty scant to say the least. We're told that the upper ranks of WAPol beaurcracy have claimed that "by post" as set out in Section 30A of the Firearms Act means couriers, not just Australia Post...which they dropped anyway.
That's still very debatable as most people are going to argue quite easily that "by post" is not couriers with the "EXCLUSION OF AUSTRALIA POST"...not in any way, any shape nor form.
Now whilst you're digesting this be aware no other state in Australia has determined Aust Post is not to be an Official Carrier...none. If you have a firearm sent from the eastern states you can post it to WA but you cannot post within WA.
How's that work because a firearm posted in Sydney, Canberra, Brisbane, Melbourne or even anywhere else in other states of territories is 100% legal. A dealer in other states breaks no law in their state nor in WA if they use Australia Post to post to WA.
It is the strangest of situations as WAPol is of a differing view.
However with over 20 LAWFUL gun dealers and even more private gun smiths in REGIONAL WA the financial impost is massive. They cannot get stock delivered as usual by Aust Post and have to use a set group of Approved Couriers. None of which transport to all of WA. Some are without any possible avenue of delivery.
Some of these rural businesses are going to the wall as we speak. If they're within 4 hours of Perth they'll be driving directly to the Perth delivery depot/s, picking up stock and driving directly home. If they're 6 hours from Perth they probably aren't going to risk it with a 13+ hour round trip.
But how is it that the senior bureaucrats in the WA Police can get this so wrong. I'd argue that Aust Post is actually enshrined in the Act whilst WA Police's position is it isn't enshrined in the Act.
This is pretty serious on several fronts. Obvious is we have some rural businesses that are suffering unnecessary financial hardship and even in some cases a complete inability to have any stock delivered. Those that can use the listed couriers are paying far more than Aust Post do...if they can deliver to them that is.
If that's not enough there's another thing...having trade restricted by having the enshrined carrier dropped whilst the Act actually specifies them.
Stop and digest that.
We have some senior bureaucrats who have decided to created baseless reasoning to side step and contravene the Act to the detriment of rural business.
There's something very serious happening here. Bureaucrats are now able to ignore or deliberately contravene the Act. How you going digesting that...if its a precedent.
The minister has no choice whatsoever. Michelle Roberts MLA MUST reinstate Aust Post as a firearms carrier as it was prior to the legislative over reach by the Bureaucrats and identify who made this very serious breach, this Legislative Over Reach.
When? Pretty much immediately.
Acts of Parliament are detailed and set & no officer of the law can contravene them.
The WANationals are onto this as are the other Upper House cross benches but the Labor/Liberal Duopoly are out to lunch entirely.
Direct from the WALabor Twitter page states...
"
Well they appear to be doing little in the way of delivering. They're allowing free contravention of Acts of Parliament to the detriment of rural businesses.
This is not Government. This is very dangerous.
No comments:
Post a Comment