Need to renew your handgun licence? You need a strategy

• Flooding events and the number of livestock destroyed – describe your own personal circumstances in flooding events, especially how difficult it is to get around (on foot); how many head you may have had to put-down; the ease of which it was to carry a handgun (secured safely in a holster to your hip) compared to a long-arm.
• The total land area of your property(ies) and an approximate area of your property(ies) that is difficult to traverse due to timber coverage, creek/ river crossings, unsafe areas due to erosion, escarpments etc..; and the practicality and safety aspects of traversing this country.  i.e. inaccessible via 4WD motor car, the only option being two-wheel motorbike or horse.  Describe the number of times you have fallen off a bike or horse in these areas, how severe the fall was and damage to both you and a firearm.
• Provide a satellite map of the property to show these areas, provide photos, explain that two-wheel motorbike or horse is the only transport to traverse this country type. 

• Explain where you have had to use the handgun in the past and why it was more effective/ efficient compared to a longarm.  You need to provide “special” reasons, rather than just “genuine”. 

• Describe your attempts at alternative firearm options (in detail), clearly stating that no other option, including longarm bike mounts, scabbards etc… have proven successful, nor more efficient than a handgun.

• Develop a Workplace Health & Safety policy document for your property (if you don’t already have one) and include a section on firearm use, specifically stating handgun need and safety.  AgForce offers these documents at a cost.

Further information and advice is available from Sheep & Wool Policy Director Michael Allpass on AllpassM@agforceqld.org.au or via 07 3236 3100.