The responsible ownership of firearms and the traditional pursuits of recreational hunting and competition shooting have been an integral part of life in Tasmania since European settlement.

Following the national tragedy that took place in Tasmania in 1996, Australia underwent a major change in its laws to control and regulate the ownership and use of firearms by its citizens in all states and territories.

Tasmania had not reviewed this legislation for some 10 years, and the Hodgman Liberal Government was determined to bring a long-running review by the previous government to a end in our first year.

The issue of firearms in the community can be a contentious matter and we were clearly never going to get full consensus across the community. It is completely understandable that key stakeholders both strongly support the Bill for its principles and intent, and maintain concerns over some other elements. For example, we were not able to agree with Green MP Kim Booth's proposed amendment requiring spousal agreement for licence applications and renewals. This would see 34,000 Tasmanian citizens declared a domestic violence risk by virtue of their firearms licence. The Tasmanian statistics simply do not support that proposition.

The debate in the House of Assembly reflected that the government has got the balance about right.

Our focus with this Bill has to be on community safety. It is high time we stemmed the flow of stolen firearms and the alarming frequency of their appearance in criminal activity. Along with representatives of Tasmania's firearm-owning population we constructed an approach that saw them agree to an increase in the level of storage requirements, at moderate cost, in exchange for the Parliament agreeing to a much harsher penalty regime for those stealing and possessing stolen firearms. Firearm owners are absolutely entitled to ask the Parliament to have the theft of a firearm no longer treated by the courts simply as a property crime, but rather as a crime with inevitably dangerous and often fatal outcomes.

We made the strong case for mandatory sentencing to a term of three months' imprisonment (with exceptional exclusions available) for the offence of possessing a stolen firearm. This strong deterrent is demanded by the fact that there have been around 700 firearms stolen in the past three years, with a great majority of them floating around in the criminal and black market. We know only a small proportion is recovered.

We respect the role of the judiciary to exercise its discretion in the vast majority of matters that come before the courts. However, mandatory penalties already apply for offences ranging from drink-driving to fisheries offences and domestic violence. Surely illegal, dangerous firearm possession can only be deterred by a term of imprisonment.

It has been said that the make-up of the Tasmanian Legislative Council is a close reflection of the state's diverse voting population and that its decisions generally reflect the will of the people. I am confident that this debate will be conducted in recognition not only of our firearm owners and their families, but of community safety.

I thank all stakeholders for their strong involvement in the consultation process and look forward to the passage of the Bill and a safer Tasmania as a result.

Rene Hidding is Minister for Police and Emergency Management