NSW Premier Barry O’Farrell is proposing changes that would allow police to search people who have been banned from owning weapons without requiring a warrant for the search.
The law is focused on further combating outlaw motorcycle gangs and would allow the searching of not only an individual, but also their cars, houses and club houses. It is also planned to later propose an increase to the maximum prison term a person convicted of possession or supply of guns could receive from 10 to 14 years.
There are concerns with the proposed amendments however, with civil libertarians stating that the changes would erode police accountability and set the scene for police corruption.