Monday, 11 January 2016
Wednesday, 6 January 2016
On Firearms Control In Australia By Robert Borsak.
Today I was asked by Fox News in London to comment
on whether or not Australia's firearms laws work to stop crime in light of the
decision by President Obama to
reform American gun laws.
Our advocacy is being internationally recognized and it
is about time that law abiding firearms owners get a fair go.
The show will air soon and we will get a copy of the
segment as soon as we can get our hands on it.
In the meantime, here are my thoughts as an Australian
law abiding firearm owner:
As President
Obama attempts to reform America gun laws, the issue of gun control
and violence is yet again in the spotlight. My thoughts and sentiments on this
are not centred around American gun control or gun culture per se, but rather
the Australian experience.
It is deeply disturbing that every time the issue of gun
control is debated in America or other jurisdictions for that matter,
Australian guns laws are hailed as the gold standard – a benchmark for leaders
to achieve. Well, they are not.
As a starting point, we are not America, we do not have a
constitutional right to bear arms, and in fact our constitution does not afford
ordinary citizens many rights at all. Instead, what we have is an array of
draconian and impractical state and national firearms laws, underpinned by a
‘Howard’ mentality that somehow regulating law abiding people will deter crime.
But the facts and evidence fly in the face of many of
these ‘anti-gun’ lies and misinformation.
In late 2015, following intensive discussions with Robert Brown and I,
the NSW Deputy Premier and Police Minister, Troy Grant, rightly pointed
out what the Shooters and Fishers Party have been saying for over 20 years,
“Greater than 97% of all firearms incidents reported in NSW relate to
unregistered, or unbranded, or unmarked firearms… NSW has an illegal firearm
problem”.
This has been the reality in Australia for decades. The
vast majority of firearms crimes committed are done so with the use of an
illegal or unregistered firearm by an unlicensed individual.
Logic dictates then, does it not, that the Government
should focus the vast majority of its time and resources on curbing the illegal
firearms trade and tough sentencing measures? Rather, successive governments
have spent over a billion dollars on targeting law abiding firearms owners
through failed registration schemes, confiscation and pointless “tough gun
control” measures.
Further, independent and statistical research indicates
that the regulation, including banning, of firearms, has little to no causal
effect on the rate of crime. The Melbourne Institute of Applied Economic and
Social Research published a working paper on The Australian Firearms Buyback
and Its Effect on Gun Deaths, which ultimately concluded that the NFA did not
have large or long-term effects on reducing firearms homicide or suicide rates
in Australia.
Our gun laws are nothing to be proud of. In fact, they
represent one of the most vile and draconian attacks on personal freedoms and
culture. They have been formed, and continue to be formed, on lies, political
mileage and misinformation.
In 1996, the Howard Government decided that we couldn’t
be trusted with semi-automatic rifles and pump action shotguns anymore, yet it
seems criminals didn’t get the message?
Even today, the ordinary Australian citizens cringes or
questions me when I tell them I love shooting and hunting. I don’t blame them
though. I blame the collective efforts of politicians like John Howard,
anti-gun groups like The
Australian Greens and Gun
Control Australia, and most of the media. This atmosphere of paranoia and
ignorance was created by them. It is our job to unwind the damage and further
our rights in the process.
Licensed firearms owners are among the few classes of
people that are acknowledged and endorsed as fit and proper persons. Criminals
are not allowed to obtain firearms licences period. Ownership and use of a
firearm is a highly held privilege. With that privilege we have the right not
to be associated with or disadvantaged by the action of senseless cowards.
Relaxing firearms laws to make it easier and more practical for law abiding
citizens to enjoy their sport and cultural pastimes is not going to result in a
mass shooting or spike in gun crime.
To my fellow law abiding firearm owners, and to anyone
who truly values personal freedoms and fact based decision making, I say this:
The fight for the roll back of these firearms laws will be a generational
struggle, but united, we have a strong and growing voice that will not be
silenced!
Tuesday, 5 January 2016
Alone in the Past — Surviving the Russian Winter, 9th-Century Style
Not much different from colonial living in the 18th century.
The Well Equipped Woodsrunner.
This post is just to encourage people to improve on their equipment when ever they have the opportunity. In our busy lives we can sometimes lose track of the things that are truly important to us, things that give us pleasure, and in some cases security. These things are worth spending time and money on when they are available.
Collecting things is fun, but be careful to distinguish between what you like to have in your possession and what you need to carry in your pack and on your person. There must be some compromise between minimum weight & maximum self-reliance.
Collecting things is fun, but be careful to distinguish between what you like to have in your possession and what you need to carry in your pack and on your person. There must be some compromise between minimum weight & maximum self-reliance.
The compass is probably not a necessity, but it can make life easier when moving in unknown territory. The angling tackle and flint and steel to me are a priority.
Knapsack equipped for a long stay in the woods, with the added market wallet, oilcloth secured under the flap closure, blanket roll containing extra clothing for winter use and spare moccasins.
I very much doubt that woodsrunners carried much in the way of a medical kit, possibly some herbs. But I think that anyone who spends time away from home in the woods should carry a medical kit regardless. This kit of mine is very basic, but if I were travelling far long term, I would be packing a modern medical kit.
Shot pouch and contents. Make sure you have a ball mould & lead ladle for re moulding spent ball retrieved from shot game.
Patched ball was not commonly used in smoothbores, and at the rages in which I hunt I have no need for great accuracy, but I do carry two patched ball in a loading block for faster reloading if I should need it.
These tools, grease, spare flint leather and flints are carried in my shot pouch.
These spare lock parts and tools are carried in my knapsack.
Carrying a quality powder horn is essential, it does not have to be flash looking, but it does have to be serviceable. No leaks at spout plug or base plug, and the base plug should NEVER be glued. It should be sealed with beeswax only, and secured with metal pins.
One of three gunpowder bags that I can use to carry extra gunpowder should I need to. A lighter option than carrying extra powder horns. When empty I use this one to carry spare tinder for fire lighting.
Good blades are essential to wilderness living and survival. Choose wisely, only use them for their intended purpose and look after them.
Rifle or smoothbore long gun is your choice. Consider what type of game you are likely to be hunting, and the type of area you are likely to be hunting in. Also consider your capabilities regarding weight of the arm and your eyesight.
A good pistol for a back-up can be useful, and sometimes necessary. Choose a pistol that matches your longarm if you can, especially if it is a rifle. Other options are smoothbore pistols and you can carry shot. I carry a .62 caliber fusil, but my pistol is .70 caliber. However I can still use shot, and I can use a leather patched . 60 caliber ball in this pistol.
This is a left hand lock pistol, so I can carry it under my equipment belt on the right hand side. I am not left handed.
This is a left hand lock pistol, so I can carry it under my equipment belt on the right hand side. I am not left handed.
These two leather covered glass water flasks have proved to work very well. Not too heavy, and easy to accommodate in my pack and haversack.
I tend to alternate between carrying my kettle or my tin cup. The cup is obviously lighter, but the kettle holds more. I think that when travelling alone the tin cup suits my purpose better, & if I am in company, then someone else can carry the kettle!
I do carry other items such as soap, comb, whetstone, metal file, wooden spoon, awl, housewife sewing kit etc, but these are personal choices that some may not bother carrying.
The housewife sewing kit how ever does have other uses besides repairing clothing, shelter & packs. The needles are good for removing splinters and if necessary used to sew up a wound that can not be closed with a bandage.
Saturday, 2 January 2016
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