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The laws also include mandatory licence disqualification for serious offenders such as family and domestic violence perpetrators.
They were bolstered in the weeks prior to passing parliament, after Perth woman Jennifer Petelczyc and her 18-year-old daughter Gretl were murdered by a man searching for his ex-wife.
The pair were shot dead in their home by the registered firearms owner before he took his own life.
Wielding a handgun at the time, he owned 13 guns in total.
Mrs Petelczyc’s brother, Dennis Harvey, and the killer’s daughter, Ariel Bombara, were outspoken in the wake of the tragedy.
Ms Bombara revealed she had repeatedly warned authorities about her father’s cache of weapons and the danger it posed but to no avail.
Bevan Steele, president of the WA Firearms Traders Association and a gun shop owner, says the firearms trade in the state has been “smashed” by the ensuing restrictions.
They’ve forced owners to find markets for their collections on the east coast and elsewhere, with some even choosing to sell up and move interstate themselves to avoid limitations on their recreational shooting, he says.
The WA government has offered a buyback but Mr Steele says the amounts paid favour cheap guns and vastly underprice more expensive ones.
The government just before Christmas announced a ban on lever-release firearms that give faster manual reloads than bolt-actions, catching gun dealers off guard after they’d stocked up on such weapons.
“There were guys getting licences granted in December then getting told two weeks later ... ‘you can’t have that gun on your licence any more, we’re going to take it off you in three months’.”
Many of those firearms have ended up flowing to other states and territories, with transfers and sales often arranged by firearms dealers.
Dealers have also bought firearms in WA to onsell in eastern states, Mr Steele says.
With some weapons banned outright and others flooding the market due to ownership limits, gun prices in WA have dived.
The new regulatory system is a “shemozzle” that isn’t working, Mr Steele says.
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“It’s caused untold stress and pressure on everyday firearms owners, mothers, fathers, grandads, aunties, grandmas, trying to stay compliant.”
Northern Territory Firearms Council President Grant Hatcher says the WA regulations have prompted a big cross-border transfer of guns.
They aren’t necessarily sold to someone else, with owners just wanting to get their weapons out of WA to comply with the restrictions.
“Which was no good for us, we’ve ended up with a safe full of guns that have no final destination and it messed up our storage a bit,” Mr Hatcher says.
The outflow has settled down since NT dealers began contacting those in WA to ask that firearms are sent only when there is a final purchaser, he adds.
But the issue is still being dealt with six months on, with guns shipped from the west yet to be transferred to new owners as they apply for NT permits.
“People in WA are trying to offload the firearms as best they can,” Mr Hatcher says.
They figure if they send a gun interstate and get a few hundred dollars for it, it’s better than handing it into police to be cut up, he explains.
But they then have to take into account costs to freight the firearm, which from WA can be hundreds of dollars.
In many cases it’s not worth it for an old shotgun only worth $200, “so you might as well just hand it in”, Mr Hatcher says.
“Nobody is saying we don’t want any regulation, we understand the rule book has to be followed.”
But the way WA has gone “doesn’t make any sense”.
A form letter provided to members of the Sporting Shooters Association of Australia WA notes that lever-release firearms are permitted in every other state and territory.
It says authorities gave short notice of the new ownership rules, forcing some to sell lever-release weapons interstate or dispose of new ones “at a complete loss”, with zero reparation.
The letter also claims it is negligent for the WA Police firearms licensing agency to collect an annual fee “in full knowledge that the firearm was intended to be banned in Western Australia”.
WA is committed to ensuring community safety via the new regime, according to a government statement.
“The nation-leading reforms are designed to take guns out of the hands of serious offenders and reduce the incidence of firearm-related tragedies in our community,” it says.
A firearms committee report will soon be tabled and Police Minister Reece Whitby will give “full consideration” to its recommendations.
The WA Nationals argue that more than 90,000 law-abiding West Australians are expected to comply with new laws they and even police struggle to understand.
The party is urging a delay in implementing the legislation to allow for more consultation.
AAP
