Paul Papalia says gun reforms being debated in upper house could be strengthened after Floreat murders

Police Minister Paul Papalia says gun laws going through the Parliament could be made even tougher — such as by seizing firearms even before a police or restraining order was issued — after a double murder in Floreat on Friday. Gun reforms — in the works for years — to limit the number of guns an individual can own and introduce criminal and health checks are moving through the Legislative Council this week. But following the tragic double murders of 59-year-old Jennifer Petelczyc and her 18-year-old daughter Gretl at the hands of Mark Bombara, 63, who then turned the gun on himself — the minister said the Government would consider amendments to make them even tougher. Police have revealed Bombara was looking for his ex-partner — wrongly believing she was staying with the Petelczycs — and that his intended victim had previously called police to help her move out. Mr Papalia told 6pr on Tuesday that Premier Roger Cook had asked Police Commissioner Col Blanch to examine further measures the Government could take. “We may learn that maybe we need to lower the threshold for removing firearms in instances of conflict around domestic situations,” he said. “At the moment, firearms are seized in the event of a police order restraining orders being issued, but maybe we need to look earlier in that process.” Asked if police could have removed the guns given Bombara’s ex-wife had requested police presence when moving out, Mr Papalia said requests for such assistance were common and the woman’s contact with police would not have met the current legal threshold for confiscating firearms. “These sorts of assists or attendances happen all the time. They’re not necessarily an indication that someone’s going to be violent or has been violent,” he said. “But what I am very keen to look at — and we’ve asked the police to assess — whether or not in the process of these sorts of situations, if there are firearms involved, whether they could be removed at an earlier time.” Mr Papalia blasted the WA Nationals for opposing the reform package and the Liberals for moving an amendment that would delay their implementation. “What we’re proposing is being opposed,” he said. “Whether or not we make it even tougher is a question that we’ll look at. But people really need to question the opposition what on earth they’re doing. “I don’t know what it takes for the Liberals and Nationals to agree to gun reform, if not for what happened on Friday.”