Editorial: New NT gun laws good, but oversight needed

POLICE will soon have another weapon in their arsenal to combat gun crime in the NT

NT Police will soon have another weapon in their arsenal to combat gun crime with new laws to be introduced to Parliament this week

POLICE will soon have another weapon in their arsenal to combat gun crime in the NT.

The Territory’s new gun laws to be introduced to Parliament this week are not tinkering around the edges.

These are wide-reaching and extraordinary powers.

They will give the Police Commissioner the power to slap a person as young as 14 with an order which will allow police to search them, their home, possessions or car without a warrant.

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There’s no requirement for a person subject to an order to have a criminal record — only for the Police Commissioner to believe it is in the public interest for an order to be applied.

Those in breach of the order can be jailed for up to 10 years.

Tragically, Darwin knows well why we need these new laws.

Our community is still reeling from the deaths of four of our own in June.

Separately, police say membership of bikie gangs has risen 10 per cent since 2018.

There has been a 100 per cent increase in those associating with gangs in the same period.

These new laws will make a difference.

In NSW, reported shootings fell 36 per cent two years after the introduction of firearm prohibition orders.

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However these laws must be applied with caution and accountability.

There needs to be serious, robust oversight on how police use these new powers.

The NT Ombudsman should be responsible for ensuring they do not become a tool for police to arbitrarily or unreasonably harass those they don’t like.