Good Samaritan Ron Sterry loses gun licence appeal, sparks call for ‘urgent’ law reform

One of the NT’s top judicial officers has written to the Police Minister calling for ‘urgent’ action to address ‘incongruity and absurdity’ in the Territory’s gun laws.

Chief Judge Elizabeth Morris has written to NT Police Minister Kate Worden flagging an “urgent need” to redraft legislation that saw a good Samaritan gun owner stripped of his licence.

Alice Springs man Ron Sterry was exonerated on a string of weapons offences in October 2021 after a judge found he was justified in taking a gun with him when he came to his neighbour’s rescue the previous April.

Mr Sterry was handed a good-behaviour bond without conviction after he was found guilty of

a single charge of unnecessarily attaching a bayonet to his rifle at the time, with the court ordering that his licence and guns be returned.

But police subsequently revoked his licence and seized the guns with Ms Morris ruling on appeal that the original judge only had the power to order the return of his licence card.

“The power used to order the return of the firearms themselves does not encompass licensing matters,” she wrote.

“Thus, for the order to be valid, the judge must have been referring to the licence as a ‘physical thing’ in his decision.

“I note he referred to ‘the return of all those items’ after making the orders.”

Alice Springs man Ron Sterry has lost an appeal of a decision to revoke his gun licence. Picture: Supplied

Ms Morris said as it stood, the Firearms Act potentially banned anyone sentenced to community work without conviction from possessing firearms for life, while those convicted of offences could still reapply.

“Whichever reading of the section is accepted, incongruity and absurdity in relation to the penalty of the suspension arises,” she wrote.

“How can being convicted and released on a bond incur a lesser mandatory restriction than not being convicted and having the charge dismissed?”

In ruling that the law left police with no choice but to revoke Mr Sterry’s licence, Ms Morris said she would write to Ms Worden indicating “that there’s urgent need for amendment so that whatever (the) government’s policy is in relation to suspension, it’s clearly laid out in the act”.

In response to the dismissal of his appeal, Mr Sterry said he was “a bit upset by this decision” but had “no regret in helping my neighbours”.

“Hopefully there will be enough political momentum to protect future good Samaritans,” he said.

Ms Worden said she had asked NT Police to “take into account the judge’s comments and report back to me about a potential review of the legislation”.