Possession of a large cache of prohibited and unregistered firearms, even by a collector with no sinister intent or involvement in trafficking, constitutes objectively serious offending that calls for full-time custody, not periodic detention. The legislative purpose of s 51D Firearms Act 1996 extends beyond punishing criminals warehousing firearms to encompass stockpiling where the stockpile is vulnerable. Grief at the lawful seizure of a weapons collection is not a mitigating feature.
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