January 22, 2014
A rumour being shared around the South Burnett that Queensland police have been seizing farmers’ weapons has been denied.
Kingaroy Police officer-in-charge Senior Sergeant Duane Frank said police had an obligation under the Weapons Licensing Act to regularly audit licensed firearms owners to check their weapons were safely secured, and that all weapons were listed correctly on licences.
However these checks were organised by arrangement with the firearm owner.
A welfare worker contacted southburnett.com.au this morning after two farmers – from separate parts of the South Burnett – had rung her asking if the rumour was true.
The farmers told her they had heard that weapons were being seized, and that some farmers were hiding weapons to ensure they were available if needed to destroy drought-stricken stock.
But Snr Sgt Frank said it was “absolutely” not true that guns were being seized.
He said that even if police had concerns about farmers’ welfare there was a step-by-step process that had to be worked through before weapons were removed.
If police believed a person was a risk to themselves or others, they would be taken to hospital for assessment.
If the concerns were validated, police would then determine if there was a need for further action to be taken against their firearms licence.
This occurred “very, very rarely” and there had been no incidents like this in the Kingaroy area recently.
“Certainly our first priority would be the welfare of the person,” Snr Sgt Frank said.
