Being prosecuted for having such equipment at home does seem like an infringement of personal liberties. What happened to the concept of a man's home being his castle?
One could imagine people buying old commercial fishing gear to be used to decorate a bar at home or something similar. The average person in the street would not expect their home to be invaded by government officials looking for, of all things, fishing nets.
Not marijuana plants, not a drug lab, not a printing press with forgers' plates on it, not child porn, not noxious weeds, not illegal guns, not diseased animals, not illegal knocking shops, not stolen goods, no...
No, none of those....but fishing nets. Deary, deary me!
Gee, I wish that the Premier would give the fisheries guys some money for petrol so that they could go out on the ocean and catch the offenders in action. Simply owning something that could possibly be used to perpetrate a crime seems like an unfair way to be lumbered, and equally lazy policing, imho.
Does this mean that if I own five crab pots even though I only ever take four out in the boat, that I may be reported by a neighbour jealous of my good looks, and lumbered for having an excess number of crab pots? Deary, dearly me!
I also own literally packets and packets of fish hooks. Does this mean that I am to be charged for having the potential to use more than the allowable number on my fishing line? Where will it end? Are we becoming a Police state?
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