A Millicent business crippled by gel blaster crackdown vows to protest new laws
A local business owner caught in the crossfire and left $15,000 out of pocket after the gel blaster crackdown is standing up for the ‘families and kids’ who had to hand Christmas presents back.
Mount Gambier
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A local business owner has been left $15,000 out of pocket after the gel blaster crackdown crippled his family’s livelihood, he says.
New laws introduced on Thursday class the toys under the Firearms Act meaning owners need to surrender their guns within a six-month amnesty period or obtain a gun licence.
Craig Davies, who is the owner of the now-closed Craiola’s Gel Blasters Millicent, said the new regulations had started to impact his business long before they were introduced.
With $15,000 worth of stock stuck in China since it was purchased in April, Mr Davies says his business has long been caught up in the political process.
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“It’s a lot of money to us,” he said.
“At first we were told it was COVID … (Then) in early June … there was legislation pending and that’s when we realised we were in trouble.”
Mr Davies said he was frustrated by the lack of communication that lead him to purchase products he will likely never see, nevermind be able to sell.
“We had to write to MPs, we had to file for freedom of information just to find out stuff because no one would tell us,” he said.
“I think SAPOL should have came out a long time ago and said, ‘well in six months time, you’re going to have to register these or hand them back’.
“I feel really bad for some of our customers, I know some of them are never going to get a firearms licence.”
Police this week said firearms applications put forward by gel blaster owners would be prioritised — but just 11 applications had been made at that point.
They would not guarantee that all applications would be approved before the amnesty period ended.
More than 100 gel blasters were surrendered to police last week, leaving about 62,000 in South Australia homes and businesses.
NEW SHOP
The store closed its doors over a week ago with the business owners opening a new shopfront in Mount Gambier in hopes of recouping their losses.
“We do not want to sell the gel blaster anymore because it’s been so much trouble and I do believe if we got them back it would be changed again and the rules will be made up as we go along,” Mr Davies said.
“We’ve gone down the hobby line now to trying to stay in business with something that has less government control and is more reliable.”
But it won’t stop Mr Davies from protesting the “unnecessary changes” that have destroyed the industry.
“The main reason I‘m trying to fight for them now, not for a business side of things but I think it stinks what they’ve done to families and kids,” he said.
“I’ve had my kid, she didn’t understand why she’s got to hand back her blaster `that she got from Santa last year.”
Mr Davies hopes the protest – to be held at Mount Gambier’s Cave Garden from 10am on Saturday – will lead to a motion for disallowance and parliamentary debate on the issue.
“We want to send the message out to the politicians that they need to step in and actually communicate with the community,” he said.
“Parliament really needs to debate it or at least talk about it because I think there’s going to be a lot of bad consequences.”
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Contact Jessica Ball at jessica.ball@news.com.au
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