A BID to ban thousands of Motorcycle Club members, suspected terrorists and organised crime figures from having guns is set for a make or break legal challenge.
Victoria Police will mount the high-stakes legal bid after senior Geelong Rebels motorcycle club figure Colin ‘Snake’ Websdale had a decision to place him on a firearms prohibition order ( FPO) overturned in the Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal.
The move caused high-level concern within the force and the State Government, who were viewing the Websdale matter as a test case.
It is feared the decision could set a precedent and pave the way for other criminals given an FPO to also overturn the ban.
Police had said they planned to issue more than 2000 of the orders against bikie gang members, suspected terrorists and organised crime figures, but the issuing ground to a halt, with not one issued after the Websdale case was lost.
More than 184 firearm prohibition orders have been approved and 165 of them have been served on high-risk people since they were introduced last year.
The Websdale decision came during deep concern about the level of shootings in Melbourne, including the March murder outside a Kensington boxing tournament, the Love Machine nightclub drive-by double fatality in April and the May contract killing of crime figure Daniel O’Shea at Fawkner Park.
Opposition police spokesman David Southwick said police had been left without the powers to take guns off our streets and ensure community safety. But Police Minister Lisa Neville said parliament’s intent with the new laws was clearly to “disrupt and break up the criminals and associates of organised crime who use illegal guns”.