Senator Peter Bunting, Opposition spokesman on national security, has come out swinging against reports today around the Integrity Commission’s Special Report of Investigation on Allegations Concerning Acts of Impropriety, Irregularity and Corruption in the Issuance of Firearm User Licences to Persons of ‘Questionable Character’ (the Report).

The media reports outlined apparent serious irregularities at the Firearm Licensing Authority, particularly in relation to decisions taken by Bunting and another former national security minister, Robert Montague.

In a statement today, Bunting stressed that almost all of the serious irregularities highlighted by the Integrity Commission occurred after is time as the responsible minister, and threatened legal action against the media entities over their reports.

Here is Bunting’s full statement:

“I have noted certain media houses’ coverage of the Integrity Commission’s Special Report of Investigation on Allegations Concerning Acts of Impropriety, Irregularity and Corruption in the Issuance of Firearm User Licences to Persons of ‘Questionable Character’ (the Report), as well as the Report itself.

“The Report listed a number of what appear to be serious irregularities at the Firearm Licensing Authority, almost all of which happened after my time as the responsible Minister.

“Yet in their coverage they have mentioned two appeals that happened during my term of office. This was two out of hundreds of cases that I would have reviewed during the four years I was the Minister of National Security.

1)  One case involved a person who had been charged ten years earlier with cocaine-related offences while they were a student in Florida, and whose record was subsequently expunged. It is important to note that when a criminal record is expunged, the law requires that that person must be treated as if the crime had not occurred. There are very few exceptions to that rule, and none of them applied in this case.

2) The other case involved a person who had been accused of molesting his wife’s relative. This was told to an investigator, but a formal report was never made to the police.  Separately, that person also had two charges of assault from the 90s.  One assault case was dismissed by the Court, and a “No Order” was made by the Judge on the other case. In this case, therefore, the person had never been convicted of a crime.

“From my recollection, the Firearm Review Board had recommended that the licences be granted or restored, and as Minister I acted either in accordance with their recommendations, or more conservatively.

“The contents of the Integrity Commission’s Report do not support the headlines and other statements in the media coverage which relate to me, and the media coverage is in my view defamatory. I have therefore instructed my attorneys to examine the reports, and if they conclude that the coverage is defamatory, to bring legal proceedings against those media houses unless they fully retract their defamatory statements and issue a public apology.”