Eggins v Queensland Police Service, Weapons Licensing Branch

CITATION:

Eggins v Queensland Police Service, Weapons Licensing Branch [2013] QCAT 165

PARTIES:	Clyde Kenneth Eggins (Applicant)
v
Queensland Police Service, Weapons Licensing Branch (Respondent)

APPLICATION NUMBER:

GAR407-12

MATTER TYPE:

General administrative review matters

HEARING DATE:

4 March 2013, On the papers

HEARD AT:

Brisbane

DECISION OF:

Kerrie O'Callaghan, Senior Member

REASONS
DELIVERED ON:

17 April 2013

DELIVERED AT:

Brisbane

ORDERS MADE:

1. The decision of the Queensland Police Service, Weapons Licensing of 18 October 2012 to suspend the license of Clyde Kenneth Eggins is stayed pending determination of the review or earlier order of the Tribunal.

CATCHWORDS:

STAY APPLICATION – suspension of weapons license – whether public interest outweighed the adverse financial impact of the applicant – where balance of convenience favoured applicant

Queensland Civil and Administrative Tribunal Act 2009, s 22(3) and (4)
Weapons Act 1990, s 28(1)(a)(i)(B)

Harley v Department of Justice and Attorney-General [2012] QCAT 39

APPEARANCES and REPRESENTATION (if any):

This matter was heard and determined on the papers pursuant to s 32 of the Queensland Civil and Administrative Tribunal Act 2009 (QCAT Act).

REASONS FOR DECISION

Mr Eggins had a firearms license which he used in his employment as a “rural onsite slaughter man”. His license was suspended in October 2012 on the basis that he had been charged with an offence against a law involving the use or threatened use of violence[1] and further that the authorised officer was satisfied on reasonable grounds that Mr Eggins was no longer a fit and proper person to hold a license.[2]
[1] Weapons Act 1990, s 28(1)(a)(i)(B).
[2] Weapons Act 1990, s 28(1)(b).
Mr Eggins has filed an application to review the decision to suspend his license and seeks a substituted decision that his license be reinstated until the charges against him have been determined.
He also filed an application to stay the decision pending the outcome of the review. I granted that stay on 4 March 2013. The Queensland Police Service, Weapons Licensing has asked for reasons for the decision granting the stay. These are the reasons.
Pursuant to s 22(3) of the QCAT Act the Tribunal can make an order staying the operation of the reviewable decision pending the hearing if it considers it desirable to do so.[3]
[3] QCAT Act, s22(4).
In deciding whether it is desirable the Tribunal must have regard to the interests of any person whose interests may be affected by the outcome of the order, any submission made to the Tribunal by the decision maker for the reviewable decision and the public interest.[4]
[4] QCAT Act, s22(4).
The Tribunal may also consider other matters in addition to those specified in s 22(4), including whether the balance of convenience favours the granting of the stay.[5]
[5] Harley v Department of Justice and Attorney-General [2012] QCAT 39.
The Queensland Police Service, Weapons Licensing Branch argued against the granting of the stay on the basis that it was in the interests of the public that his license remain suspended.
The offence with which Mr Eggins has been charged which lead to the suspension of the license is of a sexual nature which is alleged to have occurred 25-30 years ago.
His evidence is that in the intervening years he has not been charged with any offences involving violence or any similar offences. The last entry on his criminal history was in 1983 for drink driving.
He supplements his pension through employment on properties slaughtering animals for which a weapons license is required. He says he holds no other qualifications and if his license remains suspended his financial interests will be severely impacted.
No doubt if he is convicted of the offence there will be further consequences as far as his weapons license is concerned.
Whilst I accept that public safety is a primary consideration, on the material before me I am not satisfied that there is risk to the public in circumstances where the alleged offence occurred some 25-30 years ago and Mr Eggins had not committed any offences since that time.
He relies on the income he earns from his use of firearms, slaughtering animals on rural property.
The balance of convenience is in favour of the stay and I ordered accordingly.

The applicant, Clyde Kenneth Eggins, sought a stay of the decision by the Queensland Police Service, Weapons Licensing Branch, which suspended his weapons license. The application was brought before the Tribunal in Australia under the Judicial Review Act 1991. Eggins contended that the decision to suspend his license should be stayed until the substantive review was determined, primarily because the balance of convenience lay in his favour. He argued that the adverse financial impact of the suspension outweighed any public interest considerations.

The court needed to decide whether the public interest considerations outweighed the financial burden on the applicant that would result from the suspension of his weapons license. This involved weighing the potential public safety risks against the personal financial hardship Eggins would endure during the period of suspension. The Tribunal had to determine whether the balance of convenience favoured the applicant, thereby justifying the stay of the decision until the substantive review was completed.

In reaching its decision, the Tribunal noted that the balance of convenience did indeed favour the applicant. The financial impact of the suspension on Eggins was substantial, and there was no immediate threat to public safety that would justify maintaining the suspension during the pendency of the review. The Tribunal found that the public interest was not sufficiently compelling to override the applicant's right to continue exercising his license until the review was determined. Consequently, the Tribunal granted the stay, ordering that the decision to suspend the license be put on hold until the substantive review was completed or otherwise determined.

The Tribunal's final order was to stay the decision of the Queensland Police Service, Weapons Licensing Branch, dated 18 October 2012, to suspend the license of Clyde Kenneth Eggins, pending the determination of the review or an earlier order by the Tribunal. This stay would allow Eggins to maintain his license while the review proceeded, thereby mitigating the financial impact of the suspension.

CaseChat Overview and Summary

Orders of the court

Background to the litigation

Evidence Before The Court

Reasons for decision

Legal Principle Established