Australia Urged to Review Gun, Firearms Enforcement Laws Following Perth Gun Stash Confiscation
The problem with this government is that it takes an eternity for it to act on crucial law enforcement laws, Michelle Roberts, Australian State Opposition's police spokeswoman, ranted on Tuesday.
Last week, detectives from Western Australia, acting on an anonymous tip, raided South Beach hotel in Fremantle and three properties in Caversham which yielded a massive cache of guns and ammunition, including a Chinese assault rifle and a laser-sighted Magnum handgun as well as thousands of rounds of ammunition.
Only half of those confiscated in the Caversham houses were licensed. Police noted that some of the firearms were unsecured, and scattered in different locations around the houses. Some were even loaded, ready for firing.
"This is an area where the Government's been very lazy," Ms Roberts said.
To recall, just a year ago, Police Minister Liza Harvey suggested the Australian government should set a ceiling on the number of firearms a person could own.
"Every time there's an incident like this they say they'll look into it and that they'll take some action," Ms Roberts said.
"Yet they've done nothing in the last year to make things safer than what they were before."
Two men have been charged with the heist.
"All of these firearms are potentially lethal, and the smaller handguns are concealable, which make them more appealing to criminal elements," Dale Davies, Detective Inspector from WA's licensing enforcement division, said.