bladeracer wrote:Why does it even matter if you have a landowner willing to let you shoot on a property just so you can own a firearm? If you can't find somewhere to use a firearm that's your problem, shouldn't be of any interest to the authorities at all. Lots of shooters travel to other places to shoot as well, places that don't require written permission from landowners. What exactly would be the threat to society if every Qld licence holder decided they wanted a .338 Lapua in their safe?
It matters if your genuine reason when applying for a licence is rural/recreational (i.e. hunting), because then you need to already have a place to hunt with landowner permission. It's not unreasonable for a check to be made to ensure the farmer actually did give permission and it's not fraudulent. Maybe a phone call is a sufficient check, as Daddtbang mentioned, and I take his point that some landowners may be turned off by having to provide paperwork. I was responding to the OP's view that a request for a copy of a rates notice was somehow an invasion of (non-existent) privacy
Where are these places that don't require written permission from landowners.to go and shoot (apart from SSAA and gun club ranges)? There is no legal shooting on Crown land in Qld. Yes we could be like lots of shooters who travel to other places to shoot as well, but the commute to NSW or Vic is a bitch.
If every Qld licence holder decided they wanted a .338 Lapua in their safe there is no problem - the point there would be they are already licenced, and have demonstrated a "genuine reason" as required by the current laws, so either they are target or gun club members or have landowner permission. If you can't find somewhere to use a firearm that's your problem true and perhaps it shouldn't be of any interest to the authorities at all but it is ... because their logic is if you don't have somewhere to shoot it i(range or property), why do you need a gun?
The threat to public safety might come from the Martin Bryant type who is neither a target shooter and club member, nor an actual hunter with a property to hunt on, but actually just wants a .338 Lapua in the safe so he can take it out and stroke it. I don't know about you but I am less worried by "the government" than I am about people who really love guns, but don't actually participate in the sport, either by hunting or shooting at a range. They generally own a lot of camo gear and love conspiracy theories.