FROM the minute she wakes up, Port Macquarie local Gillian Spence is anxious – with the sounds of gunfire ringing close by.
She jumps at every bang, the noise increases her heart rate, and she is constantly reminded of the atrocities going on in the world right now.
But instead of being in the Middle East, Gillian lives near Port Macquarie racecourse – just up the road from the Hastings Regional Shooting Complex.
“I’m anxious about the repetitive and increasing noise coming from the rifle range,” Gillian told News Of The Area.
“I hear this [same] noise on the nightly news about the ongoing war, and reports of major city shoot-outs. It is distressing.”
Home to seven clubs including Port Macquarie Shooting Club, the complex has been in operation since 1975 – a time when Gillian recalls its home on Lady Nelson Drive being “surrounded by farmland and considered out of town”.
John Wyborn, Chairman of the Hastings Regional Shooting Complex, sympathises with Gillian.
However, he wants her and the community to know that all shooters who are part of any club on the range are active in accordance with strict vetting processes.
“We understand that there are people out there who hate guns of any type, but guns are not the problem; people are the problem,” John told News Of The Area.
“We try very hard to vet any potential shooter to ensure they have the right mindset for our sport, but it is all based on the feelings we get from the potential member.”
Gillian contacted Council and felt that she was “fobbed off by some environmental person” telling her that the noise is compliant with Council requirements.
Gillian feels that the Council representative was missing the point.
“It is not about noise volume but the type of noise and what it represents”, she said.
John acknowledges that any feelings around the sound of gunfire and the potential anxiety it may cause are very valid.
“We [also] understand that the sound of gunfire might trigger people; it’s a scary world out here.
“But all of our shooters are responsible people, and we have people from all professions shooting on the complex, from pastors to police officers, lawyers, and everyday mothers and fathers.”
Hastings Regional Shooting Complex received a complaint in January this year after one of their clubs applied to Council to have the hours of shooting extended by one hour.
The complainant was not told that Council had approved the complex’s request – extending the range hours from 9am to 5pm for two days of the week.
“All our clubs adhere to the strict start and finish times as they understand that to breach the regulations will put the complex at risk of closure,” John said.
“According to Council regulations, we are allowed to shoot .22 calibre ammunition from any rifle or pistol from 9am, as the noise from this ammunition barely travels more than 50 metres.
“Everything else is not shot until 10am.”
The last shot to ring out across the range is at 5pm, with John advising that “nearly all of our ranges are surrounded by walls to help retain as much noise as possible in our area – but noise does travel.”
There are approximately 2000 shooters across the seven clubs on the complex, and all have nationally qualified range officers to ensure a safe shooting environment is provided.
Range officers have to keep their skills and qualifications current to ensure the most up-to-date information and practices are in place.
The range isn’t just home to recreational shooters.
“From Olympic shooting events.. to individual shooters… some of our members are shooting at state and national levels,” said John.
Inclusivity is something that John is also proud of, sharing that the range is open and safe to both able and disabled shooters as well as being used as a training facility for Police, Corrective Services, and Council Rangers.
Gillian is clear that her concerns come from a place of not wanting to complain, but rather thinking about the damage it may cause to those in the community who have served in the armed forces or who have been diagnosed with a medical condition such as PTSD.
With this concern in mind, Gillian has a suggestion.
“I feel it would be better placed out in the forest…where there is no population, or [there are] people used to gun noises,” she said.
John, however, highlights the importance and legacy of the current complex as it is one of the oldest, if not the oldest range in NSW.
“Our range is very important to us. Our nearest complex is in Kempsey or down in the Taree/Wingham area,” he said.
“We understand that there is a lot of violence and people hurting other people, but I would like to add that most gun-related crimes are not licensed shooters but by criminals without licences.”
By Rikki WALLER
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