AGM Questions

By on December 15, 2008

Howdy folks,

We’re hoping to have the minutes of the AGM yesterday up today, they’ll appear on the front page here. Thanks to everyone who took the time to come out and support us.

One question that came up at the AGM was that of the reasoning behind us not divulging our communications with the Department of Justice regarding the future of Airsoft, and why we might have been seen as leaving the membership hanging on this issue.

Rest assured that it was not our intention to hold back information that it wasn’t a good idea to hold back, and it still isn’t our intention — that is, there is a lot of correspondence in our dealings with the Department that we don’t have permission to reproduce, but whose intent we’d like to put across, since it interests the membership.

The process of mediation and consultation between the IAA and the DoJ is by no means over, and we’re currently not in a position to speak definitively on what the contents of the Miscellaneous Provisions Bill will be. We can only present an idea of what we think the bill will look like, based on our interactions.

Those of you who were at the AGM will have gotten a very good idea of what the landscape looks like. Recent communications from the DoJ have been very encouraging, making an outright Airsoft ban unlikely, but not impossible. This is due in no small part to the stellar work of Ronan and Sean, who recently retired from the committee, who we hope to emulate in our dealings with the DoJ. This is by no means an easy task, but it’s one that the new committee is willing and able to continue to spearhead in the weeks and months ahead. This is a dramatic turnaround in our relationship with the DoJ, and with your support, we’d like to capitalise on what we’ve built to safeguard the sport for everyone.

It would be doing a disservice to the membership and the community to make a call on future legislation right now, only to have to retract it later. Legislation is not an exact science, and we’re not out of the woods yet. The minister has recieved our documents and proposals, and we know that our proposals are being taken seriously. We are still in close talks with the department, and we’re hoping to have good news soon. Please rest assured that the community will be the first to know.

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