Read it here:
http://news.smh.com.au/laser-possession-to-attract-a-jail-terms/20080421-27ij.html
Laser possession to attract a jail terms
April 21, 2008 - 5:35PM
Carrying a high-powered laser without a permit could attract a 14-year jail term under tough new NSW laws designed to reduce the potential for "mass murder" resulting from laser attacks on planes.
The proposed legislation, which has been modelled on NSW knife laws, will also make it an offence to carry any kind of laser in public without a reasonable explanation.
Under the proposed legislation, high-powered lasers - category 3 and 4 devices - will be classed as prohibited weapons, and possessing one without a permit will be an offence punishable by up to 14 years in jail.
Police will also be able to frisk anyone suspected of carrying a laser, and anyone unable to provide a lawful excuse for possessing one could face two years' jail and a $5,000 fine.
NSW Premier Morris Iemma said the laws were in response to a spate of incidents in which aircraft were targeted with lasers.
Most recently, an air ambulance was picked out by a laser over Sylvania on Saturday night.
The lasers, depending on their strength, can temporarily or even permanently blind pilots, with potentially horrific consequences, Mr Iemma said.
"We are introducing new laws to stop the potential for mass murder when it comes to these hand-held lasers," he said.
"Make no mistake, they are lethal weapons."
NSW Police Commissioner Andrew Scipione said the new powers would make it easier to prosecute people who misused lasers.
"These are stupid people doing stupid things, turning these lasers from what they were supposed to be into lethal weapons," Mr Scipione said.
In the past, police had to catch people in the act of misusing lasers to prosecute them, he said.
The laws will be introduced into the NSW Parliament in May and Mr Iemma said he hoped they could be adopted nationally.
The legislation complements the recent Commonwealth ban on importing high-powered lasers, which can be purchased online for as little as $US50 ($A53.63).
The Australian and International Pilots Association welcomed the plan, saying a national ban would be the best way to deal with the problem.
Teachers, astronomers and builders, who will be among those affected by the laws, accepted the ban on condition it did not interfere with their work.
The Construction, Forestry, Mining and Energy Union (CFMEU) supported keeping lasers "out of the hands of idiots".
"As long as that doesn't end up impinging on the people that actually require them for work," CFMEU spokesman Tim Vollmer said.
Western Sydney Amateur Astronomy Group president Gerry Aart accepted the proposed laws were sensible but said his organisation only used weak lasers as a "brilliant tool" for pointing out phenomena indistinct to the naked eye.
However, Australian Optical Society president Professor Hans Bachor said the blanket ban was an overreaction.
"You can't point (low-powered lasers) at any aircraft over a distance - the effect wouldn't be big enough," he said.
Many people used such pointers and the proposed ban could create a headache for police and the community, he said.
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Well, all Class III and IV are now illegal to have in NSW without a permit or reason.
So, thats everything >1mW.
What a fracking joke.
They better not take my 20, 30, 50mW Greens and 200mW Dilda-Lazer coming in the mail.
What's a lawful excuse anyway?!
Surely laser hobbyist just wouldnt cut it.
Where the hell do you get a permit,
they kinda failed to mention that one.
Looks like I'm now the proud owner of Weapons of Mass Murder
http://news.smh.com.au/laser-possession-to-attract-a-jail-terms/20080421-27ij.html
Laser possession to attract a jail terms
April 21, 2008 - 5:35PM
Carrying a high-powered laser without a permit could attract a 14-year jail term under tough new NSW laws designed to reduce the potential for "mass murder" resulting from laser attacks on planes.
The proposed legislation, which has been modelled on NSW knife laws, will also make it an offence to carry any kind of laser in public without a reasonable explanation.
Under the proposed legislation, high-powered lasers - category 3 and 4 devices - will be classed as prohibited weapons, and possessing one without a permit will be an offence punishable by up to 14 years in jail.
Police will also be able to frisk anyone suspected of carrying a laser, and anyone unable to provide a lawful excuse for possessing one could face two years' jail and a $5,000 fine.
NSW Premier Morris Iemma said the laws were in response to a spate of incidents in which aircraft were targeted with lasers.
Most recently, an air ambulance was picked out by a laser over Sylvania on Saturday night.
The lasers, depending on their strength, can temporarily or even permanently blind pilots, with potentially horrific consequences, Mr Iemma said.
"We are introducing new laws to stop the potential for mass murder when it comes to these hand-held lasers," he said.
"Make no mistake, they are lethal weapons."
NSW Police Commissioner Andrew Scipione said the new powers would make it easier to prosecute people who misused lasers.
"These are stupid people doing stupid things, turning these lasers from what they were supposed to be into lethal weapons," Mr Scipione said.
In the past, police had to catch people in the act of misusing lasers to prosecute them, he said.
The laws will be introduced into the NSW Parliament in May and Mr Iemma said he hoped they could be adopted nationally.
The legislation complements the recent Commonwealth ban on importing high-powered lasers, which can be purchased online for as little as $US50 ($A53.63).
The Australian and International Pilots Association welcomed the plan, saying a national ban would be the best way to deal with the problem.
Teachers, astronomers and builders, who will be among those affected by the laws, accepted the ban on condition it did not interfere with their work.
The Construction, Forestry, Mining and Energy Union (CFMEU) supported keeping lasers "out of the hands of idiots".
"As long as that doesn't end up impinging on the people that actually require them for work," CFMEU spokesman Tim Vollmer said.
Western Sydney Amateur Astronomy Group president Gerry Aart accepted the proposed laws were sensible but said his organisation only used weak lasers as a "brilliant tool" for pointing out phenomena indistinct to the naked eye.
However, Australian Optical Society president Professor Hans Bachor said the blanket ban was an overreaction.
"You can't point (low-powered lasers) at any aircraft over a distance - the effect wouldn't be big enough," he said.
Many people used such pointers and the proposed ban could create a headache for police and the community, he said.
------------------------------------------------
Well, all Class III and IV are now illegal to have in NSW without a permit or reason.
So, thats everything >1mW.
What a fracking joke.
They better not take my 20, 30, 50mW Greens and 200mW Dilda-Lazer coming in the mail.
What's a lawful excuse anyway?!
Surely laser hobbyist just wouldnt cut it.
Where the hell do you get a permit,
they kinda failed to mention that one.
Looks like I'm now the proud owner of Weapons of Mass Murder
;D :
