Skip Ribbon Commands
Skip to main content
MENU
Skip Navigation LinksHome Legislative Assembly Petitions

Tabled Paper Details

Petition of more than 20000 signatures—Philip Donato—from certain citizens requesting the Legislative Assembly and the Government ensure that the final draft of the Firearms and Weapons Legislation Amendment (Criminal Use) Bill does not criminalise legal firearms owners and that citizens of New South Wales are not subject to the loss of civil liberties because of the Bill

Petition To the Speaker and Members of the Legislative Assembly, this petition of New South Wales citizens, calls on the New South Wales Government to amend the Firearms and Weapons Legislation Amendment (Criminal Use) Bill 2020 (the Bill). The Bill presumes a person ‘takes part’ in the unauthorised manufacture of a firearm or firearm part merely by being in possession of a ‘firearm precursor’. Firearm precursors, as dictated by the Bill, have many other legitimate uses, including essential safety practices. Legal firearms owners, including farmers, sports shooters and hunters, as well as businesses, volunteer and training organisations, all have a legitimate need to possess what the Bill considers a firearm precursor to repair and maintain essential equipment. The Bill requires major revision to make it clear that licenced firearms owners can make minor modifications to registered firearms and possess ordinary hardware items (as is currently permitted by law), without being guilty of a criminal offence. This Bill must not remove basic legal rights under common law, including the presumption of innocence and the right to silence. The Bill must also define the term “legal firearms owner” ensuring that the stated objectives of the Bill are met; ie targeting criminal activity only. We, the undersigned petitioners, ask the Legislative Assembly and the New South Wales Government, to ensure that the final draft of the Bill does not criminalise legal firearms owners and that citizens of NSW are not subject to the loss of civil liberties because of the Bill.
Petition Response Response by the Hon. David Elliott—received 8 June 2021— to petition lodged 5 May 2021—Requesting the Legislative Assembly and the Government ensure that the final draft of the Firearms and Weapons Legislation Amendment (Criminal Use) Bill does not criminalise legal firearms owners and that citizens of New South Wales are not subject to the loss of civil liberties because of the Bill—(Mr Philip Donato)
Tracking of Petitions with 500 or more Signatures
Petition Category20,000+
Number Of Signatories28,456
Presented ByDonato, Philip
Minister Responsible Minister for Police and Emergency Services
Debate DateThursday, 13 May 2021
Petition StatusResponse Received
Response DueWednesday, 9 June 2021
Response Received Wednesday, 9 June 2021
Registration Number/Qualifier2505
NotesSet down for debate on 13 May 2021 at 4pm
What each field means...

Following is a brief explanation of each of the fields that could appear for any particular paper on the register. It should be noted that not all of the following fields will appear on every entry.

  • Document Type - documents tabled in the Legislative Assembly have been loosely categorised as follows:
    Annual Report: Reports of Government Departments or Statutory Bodies which are produced detailing their operations on an annual basis;
    Bill; Committee Report: A report from a NSW Parliamentary Committee;
    Statutory Report: Reports apart from annual reports where legislation requires the report to be produced or tabled, for example statutory reviews of Acts, reports of royal commissions and organisations such as the Auditor General;
    Message: from the Governor or the Legislative Council;
    Statutory Instrument: including regulations and by-laws; and Petitions.
    Other Paper includes miscellaneous papers which do not fall into any of the other categories, for example transcripts or minutes of evidence from parliamentary committees, government responses to committee reports or petitions.
  • Tabled/reported - the date on which the paper was tabled in the Legislative Assembly. If the paper was received by the Speaker or Clerk when the House was not sitting, it indicates the date of receipt, at which point the report is "deemed" tabled.
  • Tabled by/Received from – the Member who tabled the paper, or the Speaker or Clerk where the paper was received when the House was not sitting. Where a Member's name appears followed by another Member's name in brackets, the first Member has tabled the paper on behalf of the Member whose name is in brackets.
  • Under the Act - the name of the Act of Parliament which requires the paper to be produced and/or tabled in Parliament.
  • Agency - the name of the organisation (e.g. Department of Local Government) the paper is produced by.
  • URL - If the paper is located on the Internet, the URL which is a hyperlink to the paper on the host organisation's website. Please note that although, at the time it is listed the link is valid, the Legislative Assembly is unable to guarantee that the link will remain active.
  • Notes - This records any additional information relevant to the paper.

Fields relevant to petitions only:

  • Presented by – the Member who lodges a petition to be tabled by the Clerk, or in the case of 10,000 or more signatures, the Speaker.
  • Minister Responsible - the Minister who holds portfolio responsibility for the petition of 500 or more signatures.
  • Petition Status - the tracking status of the response due for petitions of more than 500 signatures – either 'awaiting response' or 'response received'.
  • Response Due - the date that a Government response is expected to be tabled in response to the 500 or more signature petition.

Fields relevant to Committee reports only:

  • Committee – the name of the parliamentary committee the paper is produced by.

The Parliament of New South Wales acknowledges and respects the traditional lands of all Aboriginal people, and pays respects to all Elders past and present. We acknowledge the Gadigal people as the traditional custodians of the land on which the Parliament of New South Wales stands.