Ivan Dean, Speeches Index

Tuesday 16 October 2007

COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT COMMITTEE

Mr DEAN ( Windermere ) - Mr President, I am going to speak fairly quickly on this matter.

Mr Aird - Quickly or briefly?

Mr DEAN - Briefly. A lot of the areas that I was going to look at have been covered. I too just want to refer to the breach of confidentiality and I listened to the member for Rosevears when he was interviewed by the ABC some time ago now when this first surfaced. Listening to him then made it fairly clear to me that this sort of thing should not be tolerated under any circumstances. Having experienced it myself in another area it cannot be condoned. I think that we would be derelict in our responsibilities to the committees if there were not an inquiry into it. I do not know what an inquiry would determine. However, I believe that there ought to be an inquiry into it at least to demonstrate very clearly that if breaches like this occur action will be taken. I think that it is incumbent on us for that to occur. I have just been looking at the Standing Orders to see how we should move that matter forward.

I, like the member for Rowallan, was brought up with firearms and I owned my first firearm when I was about seven years of age. I still have the firearm. It is an air rifle and most rural kids have had firearms. I would suggest that many would be one out there using firearms I think perhaps illegally, unfortunately in the rural sector. But it would be an interesting debate, I think, to have and you would probably find that it would be the rural people versus the urban people and built-up areas.

Mr Martin - You were my only hope with your police background -

Mr DEAN - There you go, you did not get it, did you? I was going to make the analogy that taking a firearm off a 15 or 16-year-old country boy would be like taking a bong off a 15 or 16-year-old Glenorchy boy.

Members laughing.

Mr Aird - Does that mean that Glenorchy boys are low and slow in the haze?

Mr DEAN - The point I am making is that they are in positions where firearms are used commonly on rural properties by their parents, by their older brothers who are licensed to have them and it just makes common sense, in my view, that there ought to be a change within the law to allow that to happen. So I certainly agree with the recommendation that is made. There are just a couple of issues that I raise and when the comment is made here 'are engaged in primary production' I am not quite sure how you determine that. With a 14 or 15-year-old, for instance, if their parents are involved in primary production are they deemed to be involved in primary production, is that the way it is meant to read?

Mr Finch - Yes.

Mr DEAN - It is?

Mr Finch - Yes.

Mr DEAN - The other one that I want to raise is in recommendation 2. The latter part of that paragraph reads:

'A responsible adult who is familiar with the child must confirm that a child's temperament is compatible with the use of a firearm.'

I am not quite sure how that could occur, and the person making that judgment may not necessarily be of the right temperament themselves. So a bit of difficulty could arise in relation to gauging of the temperament of a child to possess a firearm. I am not quite sure how else you could do that. I guess you could bring in a person with a medical background, but I am not sure whether or not that is necessary. But I find that a fairly difficult area to be able to control because the person judging the temperament needs to have the right temperament as well. I think that is the area that you could have difficulty with.

But I have no problem with it. A number of rural people have come to me in relation to this. It is being discussed quite freely and all the feedback I have had from within that area has been very positive about that recommendation of 14 and 18-year-olds being able to now use firearms and the amendment ought to be made.

It is a good report and I, again, commend the committee for the way in which they have gone about their business in this regard, Mr President. It is a very important part of life. As I said, not only was I involved in farming and involved in firearms, but in my career as a police officer, of course, I was involved with firearms through the 35 years there. I remember one incident and I do not want to refer to names, but an incident at George Town where two young boys were carrying a firearm, unfortunately skylarking. They were about 15 years of age. One discharged a firearm and the other young boy was shot through the head and killed.

Ms Thorp - And no legislation can stop that.

Mr DEAN - The point I am making is that there needs to be strict and proper control of firearms at whatever age. That was a tragic situation, a tragic circumstance and it is just one that I could relate from my police career. There were a number of others too, unfortunately, where shootings occurred because people have been skylarking and young people in particular, unfortunately have been involved. So we do need to make sure it is controlled properly. But I think the way that it is written here, the recommendations I think are good and I look forward to seeing where the Government takes this at the end of the day.

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