Tasmania’s Police Minister Felix Ellis has apologised for comments he made during budget estimates hearings this week about the Port Arthur gunman.
A survivor of the Port Arthur massacre, who has spoken to the ABC on the condition of anonymity, said Mr Ellis’s decision to name the gunman “demonstrates a lack of empathy towards victims and survivors”.
On April 28, 1996 a gunman opened fire on a popular tourist site, killing 35 people and injuring almost two dozen.
Those who survived and the first responders were left with psychological scars.
Thirty years later it remains the worst mass shooting in modern Australian history.
At a budget estimates hearing on Thursday, Mr Ellis was asked by Labor police spokesperson Jen Butler why he had not met with survivors of Port Arthur about the federal government’s proposed gun law changes in the wake of the Bondi massacre.
Tasmania has agreed to reclassify certain types of guns and a buyback scheme, but like many other states including Victoria and Queensland, it is opposed to putting a cap on the number of guns a person can own.
This is despite Tasmania’s police commissioner urging the minister to do so.
Thirty-five people were killed and almost two dozen injured on April 28, 1996. (ABC News: Gregor Salmon)
In the hearing, Mr Ellis told Ms Butler he hadn’t personally met with Port Arthur survivors, but he would “welcome” a meeting and he had consulted with the Alannah & Madeline Foundation.
But it was the below exchange, in which Mr Ellis referred to the gunman by name, that has really upset some survivors.
Mr Ellis: “Probably the other point to make around Port Arthur, the key problem there was access from people who shouldn’t have had access to firearms to automatic and semi-automatic weapons.
Ms Butler: “You didn’t grow up in Tasmania, did you, minister?
Mr Ellis: “No, but, Ms Butler, I think one of the things you need to understand about Port Arthur, as well, is your cap on firearms wouldn’t have solved that problem either because [the gunman] didn’t have more than 10 firearms at Port Arthur.”
The survivor told the ABC that by naming the perpetrator, it seemed Mr Ellis did not understand what the survivors and victims’ families had been through.
“It was hurtful, it was disrespectful and it was indicative of a person who perhaps doesn’t understand Tasmania or Tasmanians,”
they said.
They told the ABC that people needed to remember the survivors were real people.
“We’re … your neighbours, your colleagues, we have feelings. We are still trying to live day to day,” they said.
“We have ongoing health issues, difficulty holding down work, difficulty holding down relationships.
“Life is not easy having survived Port Arthur, not easy for any of us.”
They said they expected that a police minister “would be a bit more sensitive to this issue” and called for Mr Ellis to apologise.
“I think the police minister potentially owes victims’ families an apology … also potentially the Tasman Peninsula who’ve done so much to try and move forward,” they said.
“Naming the perpetrator demonstrates a lack of empathy towards victims and survivors.”
Labor MP Ella Haddad also called for an apology, saying she was “shocked” by his comments.
“I was shocked at how flippantly and callously he spoke about Port Arthur at the estimates table,”
she said.
“To me what it really shows is that Felix Ellis is really ignorant and shows really a heartless disregard for the serious and profound impact that the tragedy of Port Arthur has still today on the lives of Tasmanians and the fabric of Tasmania.”
Ella Haddad described the police minister’s language as “flippant”. (ABC News: Rani Fletcher)
After the ABC contacted Mr Ellis’s office about the survivors’ concerns he rapidly issued an apology.
“I unreservedly apologise for my comment,” Mr Ellis said in a statement.
“I remain committed to meeting with Port Arthur survivors to discuss their concerns as we work to progress sensible firearms policies that keep Tasmanians safe.
“We continue to engage with the Alannah and Madeline Foundation as part of the Firearms Consultative Committee.”
‘We’ve been ignored’
At the budget estimates hearing, Ms Butler pushed Mr Ellis on why he had not met with survivors of Port Arthur about the gun law changes.
The police minister made clear he would “welcome” a meeting.
His office has no record of a request for one, but the ABC understand attempts have been made.
The survivor told the ABC it was difficult for survivors and families of victims to express their “hurt and anger” over the lack of consultation about the current gun law changes.
“We fought very hard for change to the laws [in 1996], at great personal cost,” they said.
“We lobbied politicians locally and federally, seeking a change in law because we didn’t want others to go through what we experienced.
This time they said they felt like they had been “left out”.
“We’ve been ignored and that’s very sad after what people went through,” they said.
“We didn’t ask to be there, it just happened, and I think politicians of all political persuasions need to be reminded that trauma is still very present in the Tasmanian community.“
They urged the government to listen to the police commissioner.
