The consultation period for the Government’s firearm legislation ends tomorrow, and Tasmania has an opportunity to ensure public safety remains the guiding light behind delivering practical reforms that make our community safer.

The evidence for reform is clear.

• Tasmania has the highest number of registered and stolen firearms per capita in the country.
• There are 152,186 firearms registered to 37,960 licensed Tasmanians.
• In the five years to 30 June 2026, almost 5,000 additional firearms were registered in Tasmania, while the number of license holders has only increased by 1,951.
• Hundreds of firearms are stolen, and yet only a fraction of stolen firearms are recovered.
• Incidents of firearms being used as weapons have risen 62 per cent in the last four years, and firearm-related family violence incidents follow a similar trend, with an increase of 103 per cent over the same period.

Tasmanians expect their governments to put community safety at the forefront of every decision, and these figures show its time we did something about it.

The National Firearms Agreement makes it clear that ‘firearm possession and use is a privilege that is conditional on the overriding need to ensure public safety.’

Felix Ellis and the Liberals are fighting for unlimited guns in the community. Labor doesn’t support that, and Tasmanians don’t support that either.

The Police Minister’s actions show he is putting political interest above the safety of Tasmanians, and the Premier is too weak to stop him.

The consultation period for the Government’s firearm legislation ends at 5pm tomorrow, Friday 7 August 2026. 

We look forward to working with the Parliament to deliver practical reforms that improve community safety while respecting the legitimate needs of primary producers, sports shooters, and recreational hunters.