SHOOTERS Union has filed a legal review with the Queensland Attorney-General over the Chief Health Officer’s public health direction restricting gun shop trade in Queensland.
Despite the extremely hard work of ourselves and other groups working to get the initial restrictions rolled back, the remaining restrictions are still badly hurting law-abiding firearms users and dealers alike.
Until now, we had been involved in high level meetings with Government decision makers to end the restrictions and get the shops fully re-opened for all shooters, but those talks have stalled, so we’re now going down the legal route.
We have received legal advice from senior legal experts that the Attorney-General’s office is the correct avenue for this legal action, rather than the Queensland Civil Administration Tribunal (QCAT).
A legal review request was filed with the Queensland Attorney General earlier today, challenging the broad and unjustified nature of the restrictions on gun shops and saying we believe the Chief Health Officer has overstepped her powers on the issue.
While we don’t like working behind closed doors, and strive to always keep our members and supporters updated, there are times when we can’t talk about what we’re doing and until today, this has been one of those situations.
Unlike QCAT and the rest of the court system, the Attorney-General’s office is still operating normally and have received our review filing; we will keep you posted as soon as we hear anything.
We can also confirm we are in discussions with other groups on the subject of post-pandemic legal action against the Government, although the specifics are still being worked out.
In the meantime, make sure you keep the pressure on your local MPs and the media, and support your local gun shops where you can by buying non-restricted items – whether it’s a cleaning rod, gun oil, or a scope, it all helps!