Queensland Community Safety Bill risks being swept through by inappropriate committee process

L to R: Rob Katter MP, Nick Dametto MP and Shane Knuth MP.

24 May 2024

The first and only round of public hearings and briefings by the Community Safety and Legal Affairs Committee (the Committee) in relation to their examination of the Queensland Community Safety Bill 2024 are underway in Brisbane today.

So far, the Committee has heard from various stakeholders at the morning’s public hearing proceedings including Shooters Union of Australia, Firearm Dealers Association – Qld Inc, Voice for Victims, Queensland Law Society and others.[1]

Hinchinbrook MP and Katter’s Australian Party (KAP) Deputy Leader Nick Dametto observed the proceedings and was appalled by the Committee’s lack of understanding of the bill which he described as embarrassing.

“It is evident the Committee do not have a full grasp of the magnitude of what this bill seeks to achieve. That’s not because they lack the cognitive ability or expertise to do so, it’s because the bill is so incredibly complex that it has challenged all who have attempted to interpret it in such a short period of time,” Mr Dametto said.

“Adding a further layer of concern and complexity is the blindingly obvious bias and prejudice being reflected by some members of the Committee towards the witnesses who graciously gave their time to attend the proceedings. It was actually disgusting to hear some Committee members using this platform as an opportunity to express their personal ideologies.

“There are members of that Committee with a clear prejudice towards the people who stand to be impacted by the bill and they should have the professional courtesy to temporarily remove themselves from the Committee during the deliberation of this bill, and any other bill that presents a conflict for them.

“The role of a Parliamentary Committee is to investigate specific issues and report back to the Parliament and that includes reviewing, examining and reporting on draft legislation. Under no circumstances should we have a committee making recommendations to the parliament that is tainted by the personal views of one or more individual committee members.

“What I witnessed today from a particular a committee member puts the whole Parliamentary Committee process into disrepute.

“With respect to the Queensland Community Safety Bill, the Labor Government is rushing to enact legislation that stands to strip thousands of weapons licence holders of their ability to possess a firearm for recreational or commercial use through bad legislation engineered to reduce the number of weapons licences in Queensland.”

The KAP, are reiterating their calls on the Queensland Government to immediately withdraw the bill in it’s entirety and engage in genuine community and stakeholder consultation for a minimum of three months.

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[1] Committee Public Hearing program: https://documents.parliament.qld.gov.au/com/CSLAC-40FE/QCSB2024-F5ED/240524%20Public%20Hearing%20Program%20-%20Queensland%20Community%20Safety%20Bill%202024.pdf