Fears guns are becoming the norm in Victoria

AN anti-gun campaigner is concerned Australia is at risk of becoming like America, with a spate of shootings across Victoria this month.

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MIDDLE Eastern gangs are to blame for a surge of shootings in Victoria, mainly caused by drugs and territorial disputes, according to police.

Victoria Police are concerned by a recent spate of shootings and the number of illicit weapons on the loose, with nine serious gun-related crimes in the state this month, five of which occurred in the last fortnight.

“Anything involving illicit firearms or discharge in public is a concern for police,” Victoria Police Crime Command Acting Commander Peter de Santo said.

“Our intelligence suggests there is feuding within Middle Eastern organised crime groups.

“It’s not happening across the broader community of Victoria, these incidences are isolated around Melbourne’s northwest region where we have the main concentration of Middle Eastern groups who conduct their illicit activities.”

In the 2014-15 period, Victoria Police seized more than 650 guns under warrant.

They arrested more than 600 people as prohibited persons and laid more than 400 charges in relation to handguns.

Gun Control Australia vice president Roland Browne believes laws need to be tougher.

He accused the government of being dominated by gun lobby groups and thinks politicians “have their eyes shut”.

“I’m appalled at the number of shootings but equally appalled at the lack of reaction from the Victorian State Government and the Federal Government,” Mr Browne said.

“It increasingly seems that our leadership is insensitive to the continuing number of shootings in Australia — especially in Victoria and NSW.

“It worries me because the shooting lobby wants to normalise gun use in the community, that’s their objective, but with the normalisation of guns comes the normalisation of shootings and we head to the American situation and I don’t want to see Australia become like that.”

Mr Browne believed people were becoming desensitised to “gangland” type shootings and said guns were being heavily promoted through shooting sports.

The anti-gun campaigner said 2000 firearms were being stolen across Australia each year.

“That’s a lot of guns over 10 years and they can be misused and guns that aren’t accounted for can turn up in incidences like the siege in Martin Place,” Mr Browne said.

“It’s time for a review of licencing and storage requirements.”

Earlier this week Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews announced the government would fast-track tougher gun laws, which were to be enforced from June next year.

They will now be implemented from December 1.

The maximum sentencing for theft of firearms will increase from 10 years to 15 and the trafficking threshold will be lowered from ten guns to three.

A new offence of manufacturing a firearm will also be introduced and the definition of possession will be tightened, making it easier for police to place the onus on people to prove a firearm not in their possession.

“This sort of violent criminal behaviour will not be tolerated and what’s more we’re going to make sure that we give Victoria Police the resources, the tools, the laws that they need to fight crime and to be able to keep every Victorian safe,” Mr Andrews said.

“We intend to have an ongoing discussion with Graham Ashton (Victoria Police chief commissioner) and his team and if there are further measures, further resources, further tools that they need to make sure that this culture of violence doesn’t take hold in our city and in our state — then the government will look at those very carefully.”