Paul1405, "there is no evidence that this gun is a replica"

Where is the evidence it is fully operable and not a replica? They are described the same by publicity-seeking senior police. That deliberately misleads the public and unnecessarily causes fright.

In the unlikely event that it is capable of working without blowing the operator's hand off on the first shot, doubtless the police would be firing it to obtain rifled projectiles and fired cases to exclude it from crimes. The test firing would be a publicity event for tabloids.

Again, London to a brick that the police will NOT be saying that it was test fired. Guess why not? Too easy, it is only a replica.

However, if it did operate that would prove the concerns of the associations representing licensed citizens, specifically that the so-called 'Howard' laws are ill-directed, ineffectual and DO NOT deter or control offenders, who are importing and manufacturing firearms.

Paul1405, "You took it upon yourself to make such a claim, no doubt to minimize the seriousness of the whole episode, and guns in the community in general"

LOL What absolute cr@p. You are notorious as OLO's great spinner of yarns and fabricator. There wouldn't be a post of yours where you weren't fabricating some obvious BS about someone.

My interest as always is in facts and evidence advising policy. Where administration of firearms laws is concerned, I do NOT believe that the public interest in a democracy is served where police administer laws and may even amend the laws through their interpretation without reference to Parliament.

Paul 1405, "Public safety is paramount!"
Why then did the Greens demand, against police advice, the shafting of Queensland's successful Vicious Lawless Association Disestablishment Act 2013? The Greens prove they are soft on criminals and do not give a rats about public safety

o sung wu,

The highly reputable and conservative* SSAA and other associations representing the many thousands of law-abiding, licensed citizens (many of whom are police) would agree with you concerning offenders using copy weapons to commit offences.

Just to reiterate the previous point made by me, non-operable copies are described and treated the same by the available regulations. Again, to be very blunt, the offence is the same and so is the penalty.

However I do not believe that senior grandstanding police are serving the interests of the public nor the police force where they show and describe toys, inoperable copies, Daisy air rifles, .22 'squirrel' guns and the like as 'high powered', 'assault rifles' and so on and often describing two or more as a deadly 'cache'.

There is a lot of misleading and misrepresenting going on. Ask seasoned police who would very much prefer to have competent, forthright management, instead of some of the 'politically sensitive' that are about.

Australia has porous borders, fix that! The Australian federal government has been importing migrants who resolve even minor disputes with weapons, fix that! -Just to take two examples, that the Greens would oppose naturally because the Greens are about social reengineering and headlines, not public safety.

*as in not prone to outlandish claims and posturing like the headline hunting Greens

G'day there ONTHEBEACH...

Mate you know what the bosses are like, all constrained by sensitive political correctness, and with a 'Dudley do Right' mindset towards everything ! Skippy's OK as a bloke but...? As well, the media have a real lot to answer for too, in these matters ? All I can say I'm glad I've retired !

o sung wu,

Police are not responsible for those who 'lead' them and coincidentally kept them with 'wheel' guns for years, while the drug-dealing criminal gangs had their imported, most recent model Glocks.

Cop this:
In a public interview a Commissioner of Police, Victoria (since retired) described a very simple, most commonly registered bolt action single shot long arm (a Savage brand) thus,

"I think it is some sort of automatic, I don't think it's a machine gun but it's certainly a high powered weapon and I'm not an expert on guns."

Say what?!

The YouTube video has since been taken down.

When it is remembered that one of the most basic requirements of a firearms licence (police are excepted from licensing and don't have to have one for their work) is the immediate recognition of the various types of firearm, it is remarkable that a Police Commissioner who was at the time responsible for the administration, policy advising and enforcement of firearms regulations could not identify the most common legal, registered, rifle and SINGLE SHOT, bolt action.

Or should we believe there was intent to make it scary and dangerous, to mislead listeners? What would be his motivation to do that? Politics? To please his political masters?

Bless the stout-hearted men and women who were, or are still in the job (police) and did/do their best to protect the public, largely from the imported immigration mistakes of gutless, self-serving, globe-trotting politicians.

Bless the inimitable retired Victorian Police Commissioner, Christine NIXON, daughter of the highly respected Ross NIXON former high ranking NSW police officer, who reached almost legendary status before he took retirement.

She chose to visit the beauty parlour while most of Victoria was 'burning up' during the worst bush fires in recorded Victorian history, with much loss of life. Ms NIXON was roundly critized at the Victorian Royal Commission into the Bush Fires, I had later heard. And why not, as Police Commissioner she should've been right there with the other government executive decision makers during such an emergency !

OTB, there's an old saying in the job - Commissioners come, Commissioners go, and all we're required to do, is clean up their mess, after the bastards have gone ! Sad eh ?