As part of the "buyback" in NSW, dealers are being offered a pathetic $25,000 in compensation... which apparently only applies to their stocks of anything bought before December 24, 2025 which is now recategorised to Cat C.
The fact PTAs are taking six months to process and business at nearly every NSW gun shop has completely fallen off a cliff? Tough shit, apparently.
I thought this article from Sporting Shooter was really well put together and clearly laid out how people in NSW can prove what their guns are worth (and it's not saying "Well me mate said he'd give me $3000 for it...")
Also keep in mind there's no announced end date on this "buyback" and still a lot of questions about how it's going to work etc, so personally I'd be waiting for that information to become available before I started making significant decisions.
The Shooters Union Tasmanian president is making an excellent point here about the outdated rules effectively requiring independent or minor party candidates to display their home address on electoral material, and pointing out it's a serious safety issue - not just for gun owners, but for domestic violence survivors and other people with legitimate reasons not to have their home address widely publicised.
It sounds like everyone, even the politicians, agrees this needs to change, so hopefully something is done about the issue sooner rather than later.
Queensland has implemented legislation requiring gun licence applicants to be Australian citizens; there's an exception for target shooting too so permanent residents who are members of a shooting club will be able to keep their licences.
As with everyone the cost of living increases are really beginning to bite and I need to bring in some more income so I can do frivolous things like "feed my kids" and "keep a roof over my family's head" and "pay the bills".
Are there any of the recruitment agencies in Brisbane who aren't hopeless, primarily for professional/communications/copywriting etc roles?
The last time I tried using agencies a few years ago it was like tossing my resume into a black hole and every single one of them was utterly useless; I ended up finding another job through my own networks.
Temp contracts etc are absolutely fine; I'm quite happy to just work somewhere for a few months on a maternity leave cover contract or whatever.
Thanks in advance for any helpful advice or suggestions!
Thought this might be of interest - consultation is open on Tasmania's proposed gun laws, which include things like reclassifying lever-release and straight-pull centrefire rifles and shotguns to Cat C, capping how many guns someone can own, and limiting magazine capacities on rifles.
The story has some more info on the specifics as well as a link to the submission page and explanatory notes.
I'd love to be a fly on the wall at NSW Labor HQ following this debacle - Shooters Union picked up on it and posted about it, and the whole thing snowballed to the point where even TV news and The Australian newspaper were reporting on it.
It's preaching to the converted but it's still good to see this stuff clearly articulated in a single place.