COUNCIL SHOULD ACT ON AMA RECOMMENDATION
Eurobodalla Shire Council has an opportunity to show genuine concern for the health of residents and ratepayers by taking action in response to recommendations made recently by the Australian Medical Association (AMA).
In a statement last month on firearm control, the AMA set out its position, which includes:
Possession of firearms in the community represents a public health issue; and
The AMA supports a reduction of firearms in the community.
The statement includes a number of recommendations for government, principally at the state and federal level. However, local government has in its power the ability to respond immediately to the AMA’s concerns about the public health impact of firearms by ruling out the use of council-controlled land for the promotion and sale of guns. Such a step would give local government a rare chance to show national leadership, by being the first level of government to take a stand on this important issue.
For the new Eurobodalla Shire Council, which has inherited the licensing of Huntfest until 2022, the AMA statement is a wake-up call about the responsibility of all levels of government to put the health and welfare of their citizens at the top of their priority list.
Huntfest is designed to encourage gun ownership and use. It fosters the proliferation of firearms in the community, and it takes place in Narooma every year on council land.
Doctors rightly are among the most trusted professionals in our community. The views and recommendations of their peak body deserve both respect and an appropriate response.
SAFE is calling on Eurobodalla Council to immediately stop the use of its land for the proliferation of dangerous weapons, and instead pledge this shire to working for the reduction of firearms, as called for by the AMA.
The full position statement of the AMA can be accessed at :
Media Release from Stop Arms Fairs in Eurobodalla Inc. (SAFE)
