4 hours ago
1
A Perth man accused of planning a “mass casualty” terror attack targeting public buildings and mosques was at one point able to buy guns due to a property letter from an outback station that had the sign-off under a now-closed loophole in WA’s old gun laws.
Jayson Joseph Michaels, from the town of Bindoon, about an hour north of Perth, faces five charges, including acting in preparation for a terrorist act.
The Western Australia Joint Counter Terrorism Team charged Michaels following an investigation into his online activities, and alleged he was planning a mass casualty event at a range of public buildings across Perth, including the WA Police Headquarters, WA Parliament House and Muslim places of worship. It will be alleged Michaels was motivated by a white supremacist ideology.
A number of firearms were also allegedly seized from the property.
It is not known when police allege Michaels was able to obtain the guns, but this masthead understands a review of his previous firearm ownership indicated he was at one point able to access guns due to a loophole in WA’s old laws.
In 2023, Michaels used a property letter from an outback station to purchase and legally own firearms.
The property letter system has since been shut down due to its ability to be “abused”, and this masthead understands the guns seized in February’s raid were not obtained using this documentation due to recent firearms act reforms.
Premier Roger Cook previously confirmed Michaels had owned the guns legally at the time of the raid.
A letter from December 2023 supported Michaels gun ownership by stating he was able to shoot on a property in the state’s Gascoyne region.
Under WA’s old firearms laws, rural landowners could issue letters that would permit people to shoot vermin on their property.
The letters were used by recreational shooters to gain easier access to guns and gun licences.
The property letter had to be reviewed by WA Police, which gave it the sign-off under old legislation.
This masthead understands Michaels obtained his letter through one of these schemes, but does not suggest he engaged in any illegal activity or improperly accessed firearms through this process.
The letter he received was signed by former rifle range and station owner in WA’s north-west, Shane Aylmore, in December 2023.
Aylmore signed property letters for people wanting to shoot on Ella Valla and Eudamullah Stations.
When contacted by this masthead, Aylmore said he did not remember Michaels specifically but said his property letter was signed legally, and it was up to the police to conduct fit and proper person tests.
“If they wanted me to be a referee for somebody, they needed to give me access to their intelligence network,” he said.
“If they’re not going to do that, then that’s not my job. Their job is to make sure someone’s fit and proper.
“The [new firearm] system’s not working. They should have got a system in place, then swapped it over, and they didn’t do that.
“Now they’re grasping at straws, trying to get stuff fixed.
“But again, if this guy was radicalised, why didn’t they know?”
Publicly reported numbers suggest properties around WA are responsible for more than 15,000 property letters circulating in the state’s firearm community. Former premier Mark McGowan previously said the process had been “abused”.
This masthead understands the previous property letter system made it difficult to track who had obtained documentation from WA stations, but intelligence indicated a number of “high risk” individuals may have previously used property letters to obtain firearms under the old laws.
A number of sovereign citizens who had their firearms seized in an operation targeting those with fringe beliefs late last year were also able to buy guns due to property letters they had obtained from outback stations, and lost access to them after failing to transition their licences under the new laws.
A WA government spokesman said it was clear the new legislation had helped crack down on the problem.
“Anyone who is trying to obtain firearms illegally will be identified and face the full force of the law,” he said.
“Western Australia’s nation leading firearm laws were introduced to keep the community safe and to stop people trying to cheat the system.
“Property letters have been removed under the state’s new firearm laws – individuals must now obtain a hunting permission for each firearm if issued by a registered landowner.
“The Cook government thanks the responsible firearms owners across Western Australia who follow the rules, worked with our government during the transition process and help keep the community safe.”
Last month, Cook said it was challenging to determine whether there was anything that could have been done to pick up Michaels’ alleged ideology sooner and get his guns off him quicker.
“Obviously, the fact that someone who has these thoughts and expresses these thoughts, has also access to deadly weapons, and of course, he had a cache of knives and other paraphernalia and was trying to purchase explosives. That’s obviously a very disturbing trend,” he said.
“We know that in relation to that online radicalism, that it doesn’t take years, sometimes it doesn’t even take a year, a matter of months, where people can have their thoughts escalated, particularly when they’re isolated and receiving a lot of influence online.”
WA Police believe Michaels had driven to Perth on two occasions before his arrest, and detectives requested CCTV footage from Perth Mosque from January 21 and February 1 relating to times Michaels may have allegedly scoped out potential targets.
Michaels was remanded in custody to reappear in court on March 23.
WA Police said they were not able to comment as his case is before the courts.
Start the day with a summary of the day’s most important and interesting stories, analysis and insights. Sign up for our Morning Edition newsletter.
