Issy, I hope this day finds you bright and cheery as always.

Thank you for confirming the legality of the weapon used. At some stage it was perfectly legal and in the hands of a legal gun owner. The fact it was not handed in during a gun amnesty confirms gun owners are irresponsible people who cannot be trusted to do the right thing. When it was stolen, if it was, maybe sold or given away, who knows when that occurred.

The date of 1997 is speculation only, by a copper whose officers he commands have serious questions to answer as well. Nothing like a bit of deflection away from oneself.

The fact the Australian gun lobby is beholding financially to the NRA in America does not mean we should go down the American path and arm our citizens to the teeth.

Indy,

Your scheme should be voluntary. Forcing young people to do those sorts of things is seen as a form of punishment and they often as not don't co-operate, and the whole things falls down. This scheme should be meaningful and those involved have to see a real benefit for themselves. "Work for the dole" and many "training" schemes have failed because they are not there as a positive for the participant, but simply a political manoeuvre to placate wingers in the community.

There are many good kids without a job, a properly constructed pathway to employment will give kids a future, and in that way they will become better members of society. Mentoring programs if done properly are excellent. Fr Chris Riley's 'Youth Off The Streets' mentoring program is excellent, but it is targeting youth at the extreme of a crisis situation.

http://youthoffthestreets.com.au/what-we-do/growth/educationalsupport/mentoring/

Guns for self defense-

History tells us that once the populace is disarmed tyranny follows.
See Hideyoshi's sword hunt 1588.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sword_hunt

But the Trotsky Communists and New Left want tyranny- so don't trust them when they say no guns.

Patrick Deneen says that in "Liberal" Democracy the population hands their power and responsibilities to the government without concern for the fallacies. "Conservatives" believe that there needs to be a balance between the power held at different levels of government- and the population needs to hold their own proportion. . Also there is the view that people need to be able to be able to act in the case of threats to their life and damage to their property. Sometimes it might not be wise to act but for decisiveness it is important to leave this decision to the judgement of the person in the situation. Sun Tzu- the civil government in the capital should not run the army in the field.

There seems to be a paradox here in the perception that older people may not be mentally capable of their own self defense. There are a few ways to resolve this paradox- 1. Perhaps old age communities provide greater safety and a model can be developed around this concept- this would perhaps insulate older people from the violence in the wider community. 2. Perhaps there can be work done in diversion programs- but much has been done before.

Generally if people feel afraid there is good reason why they feel that way- there seems to be a trend to blame the victim in certain cases but the opposite in other cases. As in first aid it's the silent unseen victims that are most vulnerable. If an older person pulls a gun on someone at the door- I would be first asking what led to this mind set- not "older people get crazy". As Confucius says the institutions of the community are critical for it's stability- if the people are crazy it's the fault of the institutions- there are subtle nuances here

Paul1405,
You're simply refusing to see even the slightest ounce of sense. I explicitly stated that the implementation of a NS should be gradually & fine-tuned on the run.
I also clearly stated that the Govt should invite feedback particularly from those who'll be most affected.
Your mentality on matters society is clearly a mere daydream with the focus on disrupting anything that can help hose who need help & guidance because their life plans have been ruined by integrity-devoid such as you.
Instead of digging for loopholes to condemn suggestions to improve society why don't you for a change propose solutions ? You could actually be regarded as a useful contributor rather than simply a stirrer !

Individual- I think Paul1405 has an ideology that is incompatible with yours. He seems to believe in individual freedom in preference to responsibility. This is similar to the difference between John Stuart Mill (free so long as it doesn't limit others) and Aristotle (societies need to be structured for stability)- both these views can be presented in absolute or relative terms.

Now that we have all had our say we have to return to the reality that nothing is going to change. We are never going to be listened to by politicians - mainly because they don't know we are having this 'discussion'; and, they only pay lip service to the problems of ageing and old age. We are of no use to them. We cost them money in pensions and health care. They don't give a stuff. Like all people of their generation they are incapable of thinking ahead to when they will be old.