Australia, June 18 -- New South Wales Land and Environment Court issued text of the following judgement on May 19:

1. This is an application for review of a decision of the Commissioner of Police, NSW Police Force, the respondent in these proceedings (the Respondent), to refuse to issue a firearms licence to GZX (the Applicant). The Applicant contests that refusal.

Background

2. The Applicant held various firearms licences under the Firearms Act 1996 (NSW) (Firearms Act) from 2001.

3. The Applicant had a residence in NSW and also in Tasmania. He went to his Tasmanian residence from time to time.

4. On 10 January 2023, the Applicant travelled to Tasmania by ferry with his wife. He took with him certain firearms. The Applicant previously stored these firearms in NSW.

5. The Applicant and his wife went to their residence in Tasmania to carry out renovations. They intended to return to NSW on 16 April 2023.

6. On 26 March 2023, they were travelling to Launceston in Tasmania. They stopped at a restroom on the way. The Applicant said to his wife, according to her recollection of events, words to the effect of: "if you don't stop poisoning me, I'm going to bash you". His wife responded that she was not poisoning him and loved him. She says that he laughed and changed the conversation.

7. His wife says that later that day, the Applicant made further threats of violence against her. The exact words of the threats were not in evidence.

8. After shopping in Launceston, the Applicant and his wife were in a car park to pack the things they had bought in the car they were using. The wife says she felt a kick to her backside. She turned around and said she saw the Applicant's leg going back down to his other leg. The wife's evidence is that she said: "you kicked me" and that the Applicant laughed and said words to the effect of denying that he kicked her.

9. The Applicant and his wife subsequently drove to Burnie in Tasmania and arrived after dark. They had a disagreement on where to park the vehicle. The Applicant is alleged to have said: "don't pull off there; we'll get bogged". The wife said he then grabbed her hair on the top of her head, pulled her up and then let her go very quickly.

10. The Applicant's wife attended counselling on 30 March 2023 at Launceston. Her evidence is that afterwards, she called the Applicant and informed him that he needed to go back to NSW and that she would stay in Tasmania. She also says that she informed the Applicant that she had seen a counsellor, and she thought that it was too dangerous for her to live with him. She said that she would return to the house in Tasmania and would now be living there. She also said that she would seek an apprehended violence order if he did not leave quickly enough.

11. The Applicant remained in Tasmania. He began renovating the bathroom at the residence in Tasmania on 1 April 2023. The parties then had a disagreement. The wife says that the Applicant became upset and started yelling at her. She said she felt unsafe, went to the toilet, closed and locked the door and rang Tasmania Police.

*Rest of the document can be viewed at: (https://www.caselaw.nsw.gov.au/decision/196d6fe3edf5c8158fcf3df4)

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