Local Labor MP, Justine Elliot, has launched a petition backing the police use of tasers and guns, on the back of a social media post criticising the federal Greens’ gun and taser policy.
Mrs Elliot’s online post attracted nearly 1,000 comments, and her petition describes the policy as extreme. ‘Unlike the Greens, I back our police. I was one’, she says.
Mrs Elliot posted number 18 of the Australian Greens criminal justice policy on her Facebook page, which reads: ‘To implement a prohibition on the use of electroshock weapons and tasers, starting with disallowing their distribution to general duties police and restricting their use to situations where life is threatened’.
Mrs Elliot also posted number 65 and 66 from the NSW Greens criminal justice policy (greens.org.au/nsw/policies/criminal-justice).
It reads, ‘65. Ensure that general duties police do not have as part of their standard appointments either tasers or guns, with these weapons reserved to specialised units and teams who can deploy as needed’.
‘66. Remove tasers from the NSW Police Force until additional safeguards are in place, for taser use to ensure that only specially trained squads can use tasers, that they only use tasers as a substitute for firearms in situations of serious threat of violence to a person, and that tasers are not used to enforce compliance in non-serious situations’.
Political football
Greens candidate for the federal seat of Richmond, Mandy Nolan, said, ‘It’s sad to see Labor misrepresenting Greens policy in an attempt to gain a political advantage’.
‘Policing is a very serious issue, not a political football. This sort of gutter politics and trash-talking creates unnecessary fear in the community, and could damage our crucial tourism industry – all for our Labor MP’s attempt to smear the Greens.
‘Over the past year we have seen a disturbing increase in people with complex health needs being killed by police tasers. People who have been killed by police tasers over the past year include a 95-year-old woman suffering from dementia. It’s clear that the justice and policing system needs an urgent review to prevent more needless deaths. Even the Police Commissioner and Labor’s NSW Minister for the Police have indicated their support for an inquiry into policing practices, including whether all police should carry guns and tasers.
‘Of course we don’t want to take all guns and tasers away from the police, and to suggest otherwise is a dangerous falsehood. Police should have access to weapons such as guns and tasers for situations that need them. But those situations don’t include welfare checks, RBTs and many other day to day police duties. We want to see more training and support for frontline police to deescalate situations without use of force, with use of deadly weapons reserved for specially trained officers and units who can be deployed as necessary. We also want safeguards on police tasers to prevent further tragic deaths like 95-year-old Clare Nowland. Tasers are deadly weapons, and should only be used in situations where there is a serious threat of violence.
‘These policies would bring Australia into line with other progressive countries like the UK, New Zealand and Norway, where police don’t carry firearms unless the situation is expected to merit it. These countries, like Australia, have relatively low crime rates. It’s important that we don’t let political fear mongering around crime get in the way of the facts, and what’s important – keeping the community safe.’
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