A crucial inquiry into gun laws is set to be delayed once more after the chair of the parliamentary committee overseeing it was elevated to the ministry, prompting claims from the state Opposition that the parliament is no longer functioning properly.
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Lyons Liberal MHA Mark Shelton will be sworn in as Police Minister on Tuesday, meaning he will be unable to remain on the committees of which he is a member due to rules prohibiting membership for ministers.
It's understood the committees Mr Shelton is not chair of will be allowed to continue unimpeded while down one member.
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But he does serve as the chair of a committee examining firearms legislation, preventing it from continuing its work until the lower house appoints a new chair.
The committee was disrupted when one of its members Adam Brooks, the former Braddon Liberal MHA, resigned from the parliament in February.
Labor frontbencher David O'Byrne said the government had "no control of the parliament".
"This [firearms] committee was the government's idea," he said.
"Now the committee has to be reconstituted yet again because of their own infighting and dysfunction.
"The firearms committee is a committee on a subject of intense public interest and it's important that the people of Tasmania have confidence that these matters will be rigorously and professionally investigated and dealt with."
Franklin Greens MHA Rosalie Woodruff, a member of the firearms committee, said the work of the committee had already been delayed for six months due to the resignation of Mr Brooks.
"The elevation of Mark Shelton ... will mean the reporting deadline of the committee to parliament in September will be impossible to achieve," she said.
The committee has to be reconstituted yet again because of [the government's] own infighting and dysfunction.
- David O'Byrne, Franklin Labor MHA
"This will frustrate the dozens of people who took the time to write passionate submissions in support of Tasmania's strong gun laws."
A government spokesperson said committee membership matters would be dealt with further after parliament resumed on July 30.
"Committees are an important function of the parliament and the government will ensure our members are represented appropriately on those committees," the spokesperson said.
An upper house inquiry into the proposed gun law changes was disbanded after the government backed away from the policy in August. The lower house committee was then established.
Rob Inglis
Rob Inglis is a reporter with The Examiner, covering state and federal politics. He is based in Hobart.
Rob Inglis is a reporter with The Examiner, covering state and federal politics. He is based in Hobart.
