Police have charge a 59 year old man with the murder of three people and the attempted murder of another at the front gate of a property outside Bogie, near Collinsville in far North Queensland. Police alleged a dispute had developed between neighbours over the property boundaries, and the assailant had invited his neighbours to meet to "settle the matter". Police said the arrested man was a long-term resident of the area, known to police, while the victims were relatively new to the area.

There is a belief by some that farmers are a special case when it comes to gun ownership and use. Some time back there was the case of farmer Ian Turnbull in NSW, who through easy access to a firearm was able to fatally shoot environmental officer Glen Turner, over a dispute concerning land clearing, Turnbull was sentenced to 35 years imprisonment.

I believe its again time to review gun laws as they apply to farmers, and evaluate their necessity and use on rural properties.

Some years back my son took a job in the Shoalhaven District of NSW, working for a dairy farmer, a relative of his then wife. On visiting, my son he forewarned me that "Geoff" the farmer was a little strange, he suffered from 'Tourette syndrome', but nothing to worry about. Geoff was also operating a side business on the property of dog breeding without council permission, and was paranoid about the council dropping in unannounced. Both Geoff and my son had gun licences, my son had no difficulty obtaining a licence, they were shooting roos and foxes etc, I called it an "unrestricted" licence, but I'm not up with the haps on those things.

After a time, my son and his wife moved back to Sydney, the reason was the wife didn't like Geoff and his odd behaviour, he would often walk around carrying a rifle (possibly loaded) for no apparent reason. I was glad the son and D in L left, I had concluded Geoff was a nutter, and couldn't be trusted with guns, but he had a licence.

Dear Paul,

Dreadful things can happen with guns - especially when
people have mental-health issues - not only on farms
but anywhere. I'm not sure how we can stop this from
happening. I'm sure that there are police-checks
already in place.

The laws concerning the use of guns on farms from
what I understand have been designed to accommodate
the diverse needs of Australian farmers. I believe that
sourcing a gun for farm use is not a complicated process.
All that's needed is a valid state gun license as well
as a permit. I believe that guns can even be bought
online. And there are gun shops in all of the country's
major cities.

Once a gun's been bought the bulk of the responsibility rests
with the farmer - including gun maintenance, storage.
And I'm sure there are strict guidelines as it
relates to work.

It's the mental-health problems of people being allowed to
purchase guns that perhaps needs to be looked again, especially
considering these recent tragedies. I'm sure a lot of these
mental health problems go unreported - so it would be
difficult to monitor them. But its definitely worth looking
at.

It does concern me that firearms are seen as "tools of the trade" when it comes to farmers, and the onus is on the gun owner to do the right thing, with little oversight from outside. In many instances the Pre-Licence Qualification Course (Firearms) is conducted by firearm interests such as gun shops and gun clubs, without adequate mental capacity checks being carried out. Many will be aware of the case of John Edwards who was trained and equipped by the SSAA's St Marys Pistol Club without any proper check of Edwards mental capability. Edwards went on the shoot dead his two children Jack and Jennifer in 2018. Another failure of the system.

Gun ownership, and use, often attracts the mentally unstable, as it offers them a means of overcoming their feelings of inadequacy within society, it gives them a sense of power over others that they otherwise would not possess.

Hi Paul,

It seems that there is a call for firearm control from
farmers as well. They have problems with hunters using
their properties without asking permission and the
damage that hunters cause costs farmers a fortune to
repair.

It's a complex issue.

There's more at:

http://abc.net.au/2021-10-12/firearm-reform-call-by-pastoralist/100526354

Ooooops. Here's the link again:

http://abc.net.au/news/2021-10-12/firearm-reform-call-by-pastoralist/100526354