DESPITE Victorian Premier Daniel Andrew’s claiming that the rising number of firearm and ammunition sales was the cause for the sales bans implemented across the state, Victoria Police has refused to release the figures that back the claim up under the assertion that no such document exists.
In a statement exclusively provided to GunHub, Victoria Police claim that the information is not subject to Freedom of Information request laws as the information is allegedly only contained within the Firearms Register, which is excluded from the Freedom of Information Act. And is not already available in any other form to Victoria Police.
This implies that there is no document in existence which collates the aggregate data on the number of Permits to Acquire, which means the Victorian Government is unlikely to have had access to these numbers.
“As the information you are requesting can only be gathered from the Firearms Register and you are not seeking information in regards to yourself, this material exempt from the Freedom of Information Act 1982…” the statement from Victoria Police reads.
Because it appears that there is no document which exists which collates the numbers of PTA’s on an ongoing basis, we ask how the Victorian Government was made aware that the numbers of firearms purchases were on the rise?
It appears that the Victorian Labor Government has shifted the blame for the decision making to Victoria Police.
We have put this to Daniel Andrew’s office but have not yet received a response.
