Page 2772 - Week 07 - Thursday, 3 July 2008
Next page . . . . Previous page . . . . Speeches . . . . Contents . . . . Debates(HTML) . . . . PDF . . . .
Proposed new clause 75A agreed to.
Clause 76 agreed to.
Proposed new clauses 76A and 76B.
MR STEFANIAK (Ginninderra) (6.48): I move amendment No 6 circulated in my name which inserts proposed new clauses 76A and 76B [see schedule 4 at page 2792].
One of the acts that this bill amends is the Prohibited Weapons Act 1996. Amongst other things, it adds a number of weapons to the list of prohibited weapons, including trench knives and double-edged knives such as daggers. Correspondence and discussions with the ACT Antique and Historical Arms Association, as well as an individual collector, point out that this would mean that many collectors would be in breach of the legislation because their collections range across very valuable and important antique, heritage and historical knives.
The challenge in seeking to regulate knives and such is twofold. Firstly, it is utterly impossible to capture every situation in which a knife, or indeed any implement, either immediately or very shortly after modification could behave like a knife. The person seeking to stab or slash someone or something would not need to be very inventive to find or modify an implement pretty quickly. Secondly, individual knives are not very easily defined. Unlike firearms, for example, knives do not, as a rule, carry any kind of singularly identifying manufacturing mark or serial number. I think there is an unintended consequence of these particular amendments in that, if they are passed, collectors of knives of antique, historical heritage value and importance will suddenly find themselves contrary to the law.
These items might be family heirlooms, war souvenirs and, in some instances, centuries old. They are highly prized and highly valued by their owners and in many cases command significant prices when offered for sale. Given their value, these knives are kept secure by their owners, thereby reducing the risk of their being acquired unlawfully by other persons. It would be rare indeed for these kinds of knives to be carried by those wishing to use them for unlawful purposes. I can think of no instances where that has occurred in the ACT.
Other issues regarding these amendments include the cultural significance of certain types of double-edged knives, the use of certain knives for professional and recreational activities such as scuba diving and the fact that some of these weapons are readily and legally available just over the border in New South Wales.
I will leave those later issues aside for now. Perhaps they should be the subject of the regime of monitoring and review that I mentioned earlier. My amendment addresses only the antique, heritage and historical issues that have been raised with me. It empowers a registrar to issue general permits to persons who can demonstrate that they are collectors and that the weapon or articles are part of a genuine antique, heritage or historical collection.
Next page . . . . Previous page . . . . Speeches . . . . Contents . . . . Debates(HTML) . . . . PDF . . . .