Murphy v Queensland Police Service Weapons Licensing Branch
[2010] QCAT 612
•1 December 2010
| CITATION: | Murphy v Queensland Police Service Weapons Licensing Branch [2010] QCAT 612 |
| PARTIES: | Mr Ian Roger Murphy |
| v | |
| Queensland Police Service Weapons Licensing Branch |
| APPLICATION NUMBER: | GAR179-10 |
| MATTER TYPE: | General administrative review matters |
| HEARING DATE: | 18 August 2010 |
| HEARD AT: | Brisbane |
| DECISION OF: | Richard Oliver – Senior Member |
| DELIVERED ON: | 1 December 2010 |
| DELIVERED AT: | Brisbane |
ORDERS MADE: | That the application is dismissed. |
| CATCHWORDS : | Weapons licensing; no genuine reason established; not a resident of Queensland. |
APPEARANCES and REPRESENTATION (if any):
| APPLICANT: | Nil |
| RESPONDENT: | Senior Sergent Cavanagh for the Queensland Police Service |
REASONS FOR DECISION
Mr Murphy had not filed any application to attend the hearing via telephone or video conferencing. The expectation was that he would appear. In an email to the Tribunal on 21 July 2010 he said:-
“Mr Murphy advised that he does not wish to provide any further submissions and will send confirmation to enquiries emailed either today or tomorrow”.
Despite his non appearance, attempts were made to contact him by telephone on the telephone number he had given QCAT, but it did not answer. The telephone message referred to another telephone number which was called but it did not answer either.
Despite his non appearance, the Tribunal decided to proceed with the matter and determine it on the merits and the information before it.
On 24 December 2009 the Applicant applied to renew his weapons license. As he is required to do under section 11 of the Weapons Act, he has to provide a genuine reason for the possession of weapons having regard to the objects of the Act set out in section 3 and how those objects are to be achieved as set out in section 4.
Mr Murphy’s genuine reason was for recreational shooting and nominated himself as the owner of the property at Glenvale in Queensland where the recreational shooting was to occur. This property is only 5 acres. The form also notes that Mr Murphy, presumably when the license was issued, previously leased 40 acres and used his weapons to control feral dogs. Ownership of this small parcel of land does not establish a genuine reason for a licence to issue.
Further, the information notice which sets out the reasons for rejecting the application to renew states:-
“Information has been received that you currently reside in Victoria”
Section 10(2)(g) stipulates that a license may be issued to an individual only if the person:-
“Resides only in Queensland”
Mr Murphy finds himself in a difficult situation. He is a member of the armed forces, a Lieutenant in the Royal Australian Navy. In a statement to the Tribunal he said:
“I, Ian Roger Murphy, personally lodge the renewal of my Queensland Weapons License around Christmas/New Year period 09/10. This can be verified by the fact that my New South Wales drivers license and Royal Australian Navy identification card was issued as proof of identification.
I expect to be posted back to Queensland in the future. However, at this point in time my current posting is for 12 months and any posting to Queensland is subject to operational and other organisational requirements, some of which I have very little control or influence in.
Currently, the weapons are being stored and maintained by my brother-in-law Mr Gerard William Amos of 354 Hursley Road, Torrington Qld 4350 – a property that I jointly own with my sister, Mrs Jillian Francis Barker Amos, who is Mr Amos’s wife. Mr Amos currently holds a Queensland Weapons License of 10101769-00. His “armoury” or secure weapons storage locker was recently inspected, although in recent discussions, he can’t recall an actual date in January 2010.
Up until quiet recently, there has been little feed on the property, and as such, we haven’t been able to agist the number of horses that we have in the past. However, in the past we have experienced some problems with both feral and domestic dogs as well as both black and brown snakes interfering with the horses and small domestic poultry flock.
If there is any is any further information that you require, please feel free to contact me at the points below, as I am more than happy to supply any information that will assist you with your enquiries regarding my Queensland Weapons License.”
At the time of the application Mr Murphy was living on the outskirts of Melbourne and will continue to reside there until further notice.
10. The interpretation of section 10(2)(g) does create some difficulties because on its face, it is plain that a person can only be issued with a license if the person resides only in Queensland. This raises queries as whether this means, principal place of residence or does it mean that a temporary address outside of Queensland disqualifies them from holding a license. Similarly, if a license holder moves overseas for work purposes, or as in this case if the holder is in the armed services and deployed overseas for extended periods away from their home state, does it mean that the license has to be surrendered because they no longer reside in Queensland. Mr Murphy has not addressed any of these issues, therefore I must proceed on the basis that he is not residing in Queensland.
11. I also accept the submissions of the Respondent that Mr Murphy has not demonstrated a genuine reason to possess a firearm and therefore I do propose to dismiss the application.
12. Presently, he has his weapons in secure storage and will either have to transfer these weapons to a licensed holder or secure them in an armoury if he wishes to preserve them.
13. Therefore the application is dismissed.
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