Update to the Paintball Age limit Change in Victoria

Unfortunately it is official…. The reduction in the legal age for paintball will not go through before the election in November. This has lead to some concern that a potential change of government in Victoria could easily derail the bill. As a result Snipers Den in partnership with the Paintball Association of Victoria contacted the Victorian opposition leader Daniel Andrews for comment on the bill…

The Victorian Opposition leader Hon Daniel Andrews forwarded the inquiry to the Shadow Minister for Police, Emergency Services and Bushfire Response – Hon Wade Noonan who made contact to discuss the matter. Wade confirmed that he understood the positive impact that the legislation would have on the industry. He also confirmed that Labor has no intention of discontinuing the bill – even if they make changes to other areas of the Bill.

The official statement provided by Mr Wade Noonan is as follows….
“Labor has examined the provisions in the Justice Legislation Amendment (Firearms and Other Matters) Bill that relate to the paintball industry in Victoria and I can confirm that we would support the proposed changes, including lowering the legal age to 16.”
While credit must go to Hon Kim Wells – the current Minister for Police, Emergency Services and Bushfire Response, the fear was that in the event of a change of Victorian Government all the good work developing and introducing the bill would be reversed. The statement means that regardless of who wins the 2014 Victorian Election we are very likely to see the age limit for paintball drop in Early 2015.

This is a fantastic result for the Victorian Paintball Industry and it looks like the reform to the industry will continue regardless of the result of the November Victorian Election.

Stay tune for more updates.

Mathew – Snipers Den