Knives in Australia, a Changed Viewpoint

When I came to Australia, I had read of the weapons laws regarding the carry of knives. I had read that knives could only be carried if you had a “good reason” to do so. I knew how much the “good reason” limitation had been abused in the United States to stop people from exercising their Second Amendment rights. States like New Jersey, New York, and California are notorious for the abuse of that limitation. I was apprehensive about carrying a pocket knife in Australia. On arrival, I wrote:

As I talked to the manager, I mentioned that I understood it was illegal to carry a pocket knife. She said that yes, she used to carry a small knife all the time, but she does not do so anymore.
Such are the ways in which liberty dies, a little at a time.
After I found my hotel, and checked in, I spent some time walking about the city.  It is clean and busy. It seemed odd to be unarmed, and to realize that carrying even a pocket knife is a serious crime.

Now, after almost three months in Australia. I admit, I was wrong about knives and the ability to carry them.  In rural Australia, knives are common, and are sold over the counter in many stores. It is true that you are not allowed to carry a knife without a “good reason”.  I was quickly informed that a “good reason” is easily met.

Informed people told me that there were two reasons that nearly always would be accepted. First, that the knife was a “rescue tool” in time of need. Not for self defense. Self defense is not a valid reason. But to aid in an auto accident, to cut a line, or other rescue purposes, is valid. Second is “food preparation”. Slicing a salami, peeling fruit, or other food preparation tasks are valid reasons.

There are two places where carrying a knife will get you in trouble. Knives are forbidden in bars and in schools. Not carrying a knife there is not too difficult. Double edged knives require a permit. Spears do not. Walking with a spear in an Australian city will draw attention.

The other point about Australia that makes pocket knife carry plausible is the reasonableness of Australian police. I was impressed. Every Australian policeman that I encountered was polite, willing to be reasonable, and easy to engage. If you work at being difficult and abusive… your mileage may vary.

A knife vendor told me, when I showed him the Victorinox Swiss Army knife that I had been toting about in Australia “there is no reason for any law abiding person to fear carrying a Victorinox, as long as you stay out of bars and schools.”  He, quite reasonably, asked how many times I had been searched by a policeman during my life.  I have to admit, in a long life filled with political action, and some close scrapes, the last time I was searched by a policeman was in 1970 during riots on the University of Wisconsin campus. They did not do a very good job. 

My impression in Australia is that being searched by the police is very rare.

A caveat must be mentioned in all this. I rarely saw anyone carrying a knife that was visible. Knives with pocket clips are common in the United States. I see people with them all the time. I did not see one in Australia, and I was looking. I looked when I attended the Shot Show in Brisbane. There were thousands of people. I did not see one carrying a knife with the pocket clip visible.

The attitude may be, if no knife is showing, there is no reason for the police to ask why it is being carried.

If you are in a remote rural area, camping, or walking in the bush, I doubt that carrying a belt knife, a hatchet, or a machete would be a problem. In the city, it would.

Perhaps, on the next trip to Australia, I will bring a pocket knife with a clip and see if the two reasons for carry hold up.

©2017 by Dean Weingarten: Permission to share is granted when this notice and link are included.

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