Batchelor man Alan Lawrence fined after lending gun to son ahead of pest control operation

An ‘avid hunter’ who left his gun at his son’s property ahead of a pest control operation has been fined.

Batchelor man Alan John Lawrence pleaded guilty to delivering a firearm to an unlicensed person and failing to meet storage requirements.

A Territory dad who lent his son his rifle to hunt down the wild dogs attacking his herd has been fined for violating his gun licence.

Alan John Lawrence appeared in Darwin Local Court on Thursday to plead guilty to delivering a firearm to an unlicensed person and failing to meet storage requirements.

The court heard a police gun licence inspection of his Batchelor property on August 1 uncovered evidence of a missing rifle.

The 60-year-old’s gun was found unloaded in a wardrobe at his son’s home, with the ammunition kept separately in a locked shipping container on the property.

Lawrence’s defence lawyer Michael Drury explained that his client had left the gun at his son’s cattle property ahead of a planned pest control operation after cattle had to be euthanised following a wild dog attack.

“There have been animals mauling his cattle,” Mr Drury said.

“The plan was for my client and his son to hunt those animals”.

Mr Drury said the “born and bred” Territorian and “avid hunter” had held his licence for 37 years without incident.

Since Lawrence’s physical licence was taken by police, Mr Drury said any conviction would make it more difficult to reapply for the weapons licence.

He said the father-of-two was a hardworking man up until the 1990s, when he was in an accident that left him “knocked out for 10 hours”.

Due to the resulting acquired brain injury and a metal plate in his face, Mr Drury said Lawrence “struggles to remember” things.

“Those brain issues are getting worse with age,” he said.

Mr Drury said the 60-year-old was trying to get on a disability pension, but had struggled travelling from his rural home to see the Darwin-based doctors.

Judge Sue Oliver chose to not record a conviction and fined Lawrence $300 and placed him on a six-month good behaviour bond.