Independent MP to move to send Tasmanian gun bill to committee as amendments pile up
PULSE 7 SEPTEMBER 2026
Independent MP Helen Burnet will push to have Tasmania’s contentious firearms bill sent to a committee this week, arguing it is too “complex” and too “politicised” to be put to a vote.
Burnet, the independent member for Clark and deputy speaker, will move the motion when the House of Assembly returns.
She said parliament had only had the 83-page Firearms Amendment (Strengthening Firearms Security) Bill 2026 for three weeks and had been swamped with proposed changes in recent days.
“We have received six amendments from Labor, 10 amendments from the Greens and 10 amendments from [independent MP Kristie] Johnston and I understand [Carlo] Di Falco is wanting to move amendments,” she said.
“These aren’t minor amendments. Some will have significant ramifications and need proper consideration.”
Burnet said Labor’s changes alone would have significant costs.
“Just the reforms being proposed by Labor, for example, will have significant administrative and financial ramifications for the Tasmanian police and the government,” she said.
Burnet, who quit the Greens in January to sit as an independent, said many submissions had questioned the evidence behind some of the reforms.
She said those stakeholders had not been consulted on the amendments now being proposed.
“That’s not good governance,” she said.
Burnet said the bill had become politicised to the point that she feared confusion on the floor of parliament and in the community.
“Functioning and clear legislation, especially when it is around something as serious as firearms laws, demands a calm and measured approach,” she said.
