Firearms registry boss defends colleague for giving evil dad a gun before he shot dead his two kids - and says the same mistake would happen today despite his history of violence
- John Edwards, 67, fatally shot his children Jennifer, 13, and Jack, 15, in July 2018
- NSW firearms registry granted him a gun without checking his criminal history
- The employee's boss has defended their decision based off the former protocols
- She told an inquest into there was 'ambiguity' around what was required
John Edwards (pictured) shot dead his estranged children Jack and Jennifer in Sydney in July 2018
A senior supervisor of the NSW firearms registry has defended a decision to grant evil father John Edwards a gun licence before he killed his kids.
Edwards, a 67-year-old pensioner with a history of domestic violence, shot dead his estranged children Jack and Jennifer before taking his own life in Sydney in July 2018.
Six months after the murder-suicide, the children's mother Olga Edwards tragically killed herself.
An inquest into the deaths has heard NSW Firearms staff granted Edwards a gun licence in June 2017 without looking into entries on his main police profile.
As of June 2017, 15 of the 18 entries on related to either apprehended violence orders, stalking allegations, assault allegations or adverse interactions in relationships. The most recent charges were laid in 1998.
But Edwards was granted a Commissioner's Permit by firearms officials in 2017, giving him approval to train at a gun club before applying for a licence.
Jack (pictured left) and Jennifer's (pictured right) body were found under his bedroom desk with multiple gunshot wounds
He was refused membership at the Kuringai Pistol Club due to his aggressive and strange behaviour, but was able to bypass the rejection to gain membership at another club.
This information was readily available to the public servants at the NSW firearms registry, but a decision was still made to grant Edwards a gun licence.
The boss of the employees who approved the permit told the inquest on Wednesday the registry had been 'traumatised' after hearing of the children's deaths.
She said it was obvious in hindsight staff could have placed more weight on the domestic violence incidents.
'But based on the information at that time - and things have changed since then - I probably would have granted him a licence as well,' the registry veteran said.
Edwards then turned the gun on himself at a rented home near Normanhurst, northern Sydney (pictured)
The manager said she and those working under her believed in 2017 they should only refuse licences if they found a 'mandatory' reason outlined in legislation, such as the applicant being subject to a final AVO in the past decade.
Six months after the murder-suicide, the children's mother Olga (pictured) took her own life
Legislation says a licence cannot be granted unless the decision-maker is satisfied the applicant is 'a fit and proper person' and can be trusted to possess firearms without endangering public safety.
'Back in 2017, obviously our reasoning had some flaws in it,' the supervisor told the NSW Coroners Court.
The inquest has heard the registry - overseeing the state's 230,000 gun owners and one million firearms - didn't have formal training procedures and relied on new staff learning over the shoulder of longer-term clerks.
The clerk adjudicating on Edwards' pistol licence told police in August 2018 she had been handling 80 to 100 applications a day.
'Do you agree that ... because nothing is written down, you really have no idea about how people are being trained to do their job?' counsel assisting Kate Richardson SC asked.
'Yes,' the supervisor replied.
She agreed a four-line policy could have clarified that staff needed to thoroughly check applicants' police profiles but she didn't think it was necessary.
'Some of them, they'd been here for 15 years at that time and I thought they were experienced,' the supervisor said.
She said the adjudication process had changed 'dramatically' since the deaths in 2018 with entirely new guidelines and a new decision-making tool that focused on identifying risk and staff being accountable.
Flowers and tributes lay outside the property in West Pennant Hills, Sydney in June 2018 after the murder suicide of the Edwards family
Applications involving false or misleading statements or a history of domestic violence are escalated to 'senior adjudicators', the supervisor said.
The registry also now uses the more-user-friendly WebCOPS interface to access the police database and its automatically generated report of relevant events on applicants' police profiles now targets more information.
Superintendent Anthony Bell, who took over as Firearms Registry commander in September 2018, is expected to face the inquest on Thursday.
Lifeline 13 11 14
beyondblue 1300 22 4636
Comments 0
Share what you think
No comments have so far been submitted. Why not be the first to send us your thoughts, or debate this issue live on our message boards.
