SSAA Queensland Committee Statement

We are aware that SSAA National (SSAA Inc) has emailed many members across our state and nationally claiming to have established a rival Queensland shooting organisation. The email contains many false statements and its aim appears to be an attempt to hijack membership funds from Queenslanders.

We will seek legal advice and respond to SSAA National to make it clear that we will not sit idly by when outside parties attempt to defame and interfere with the functions of our independent organisation. SSAA Queensland is the largest, financially sound and self-reliant shooting and hunting organisation in Australia with more than 75 branches statewide. We are not under the control of SSAA National and they have no right to misadvise our 80,000 members.

Put simply, SSAA National has misused its finances, reduced membership benefits and not provided the level of service that we expect for our members. We have ceased paying them for services that we now provide our own members, as they were simply not up to the task. Instead of restructuring their budget to match their reduced income and reduced responsibilities, they appear to be panicking and now attempting to hijack Queensland shooters’ membership fees without offering ranges or state benefits. Their actions display a disregard for Queensland and will go down in history as malicious and self-destructive.

For us and our members nothing has changed, nor will it. SSAA Queensland remains your genuine reason to have a firearms licence. We will continue to provide the ranges to shoot at and the disciplines to compete in. We also now offer Australia’s largest circulation shooting, hunting and outdoors print magazine The Report at no extra cost to most of our members. We lobby for your sport and recreation at the state and federal level and provide $20 million in public liability. We have established the Australian Shooters Alliance and the Australian Institute of Legislative Action which provides us with the ability to reach federal legislators and work with other likeminded organisations like the USA’s National Rifle Association. While being a state-based organisation, we now have national and international reach and influence.

And when you pay your membership fees to be a member it stays in your state, rather than being funnelled away to prop up another group. We are here to stay, and we are here for you.

We will continue to update members on our website and have also put a Q&A section under the News section.

Jeff Ross,

SSAA Queensland President