Big Gun escapes Gun Law
Feb 17, 2012
Hon Stephen Wade MLC
Shadow Attorney General
Shadow Minister for Justice
Big Gun escapes Gun Law
Do South Australians expect that after months of public gun fights, the leader of the Comancheros, Vince Focarelli, would be banned from possessing a firearm?
The Weatherill Government says ‘no’.
“Labor is more talk than action in dealing with organised crime - it is more interested in making laws rather than doing the hard yards to implement them,” Shadow Attorney-General Stephen Wade said today.
Firearms Prohibition Orders were introduced in 2008 after the Tonic Nightclub shooting incident “to curb motorcycle gang violence” (Minister’s second reading March 5, 2008).
But the last Police Annual Report states that only 24 OMG members have firearms prohibition orders against them – less than 10 per cent of the 274 members of outlaw motorcycle gangs.
Firearm offences against public order increased by 9.4 per cent in 2010-11 to 3891 incidents that year alone - but only 53 people throughout the State are subject to the orders.
There have been two major incidents involving discharging of firearms in public places in the last two months, but despite being previously known to police for their involvement in violent incidents, none of the known combatants – Vince Focarelli, Michael Syfris, Dylan Jessen and Danny Papadopolous – are subject to Firearms Prohibition Orders.
Orders would discourage the participants from possessing a firearm and taking a firearm into a public place and would strengthen the arm of the police in terms of search and seizure.
“Legislation passed in 2008 also required a review of Firearms Prohibition Orders, which is yet to be completed. However, this arrogant Labor Government will not even report on the use of the orders as required by law,” Mr Wade said.
“Labor loves to make laws but loses interest soon after the ink dries on the press release.
“Labor’s failure to effectively deal with gangs using existing laws should not be used as decoy to hide a decade of Labor’s failure to deal with organised crime.”