The National Network of Incarcerated and Formerly Incarcerated Women and Girls is deeply alarmed by the accelerating militarisation of state agencies across Australia, with governments increasingly responding to complex social issues not with housing, healthcare or community support, but with more guns.

This week the Queensland Government announced a $14 million investment to replace every police officer’s service weapon with a new Glock 45 Generation 6 handgun. The announcement follows the Northern Territory government arming public housing safety officers and bus safety officers with firearms, extending lethal weapons beyond traditional policing into everyday public services.

Queensland is not alone. In South Australia, the State Government committed $6.8 million to replace every SAPOL service pistol with a new model. While the Government itself acknowledges that police firearm use is extremely rare, it is nevertheless investing millions to modernise its arsenal. At the same time, South Australian police continue to carry Tasers, batons, capsicum spray and access to long-arm firearms, adding to an already significant expansion of coercive capability.

‘Australia has never been a country saturated with firearms in the way other nations have become. Yet we are now witnessing a steady expansion of state-held weaponry, where more and more government workers are being armed, more agencies are carrying guns, and the presence of lethal force is becoming normalised in spaces where people should expect support, not intimidation,’ said Debbie Kilroy.

Perhaps most disturbing is the way this escalation is being marketed.

The Queensland Government’s online announcement by Dan Purdie MP, featured a first-person image of a police officer pointing a loaded firearm directly at the viewer. It was presented not as a sombre acknowledgement of the seriousness of using lethal force, but as a symbol of strength and reassurance.

That image says more than the accompanying media release ever could.

It positions the public in the sights of the weapon. It invites Queenslanders to see state violence as something to celebrate. It sends a message that authority is demonstrated through firepower rather than trust, relationships or accountability.

‘This is not what policing by consent looks like. It is what militarisation looks like,’ said Debbie Kilroy.

The announcement comes only hours after a woman in Cairns was reportedly shot by police during an operation involving a man armed with knives. Whatever the findings of any future investigation, the incident is a stark reminder that every expansion of lethal force carries the possibility of irreversible consequences, not only for those police intend to confront, but for members of the public caught in the middle.

‘Governments justify these investments as routine equipment upgrades, but when multiple jurisdictions are simultaneously spending millions on new firearms while reducing investment in housing, family violence prevention, mental health and community support, these are not simply administrative decisions. They are political choices about what kind of society we are building,’ said Debbie Kilroy.

‘Every dollar spent expanding the state’s capacity for armed force is a dollar not invested in the conditions that actually reduce harm before police are ever called,’ said Debbie Kilroy.

These announcements also expose the government’s political priorities.

While governments invest tens of millions of dollars in expanding the state’s capacity to use force, they continue to reduce investment in the services that actually prevent violence before it occurs. Queensland has simultaneously cut tens of millions of dollars from family violence prevention while finding millions more for weapons.

‘Governments repeatedly claim these investments are about “making communities safer”, yet safety cannot be built through intimidation. Communities become safer when people have secure housing, adequate income, accessible health care, culturally appropriate support, education, meaningful employment and responses to violence that intervene long before a firearm ever becomes relevant,’ said Tabitha Lean.

‘For criminalised communities, Aboriginal communities, people living in public housing, young people, and those experiencing poverty, this growing arsenal sends an unmistakable message about who governments believe requires controlling rather than supporting,’ said Tabitha Lean.

The National Network is deeply concerned that Australia is quietly accepting the normalisation of armed state responses across an ever-expanding range of public institutions.

Today it is police receiving upgraded firearms.

Tomorrow it is housing officers.

Then transport officers.

Where does it end?

‘Every gun issued by the state represents an expansion of the state’s capacity to inflict lethal violence. That should never become routine. It should never become a photo opportunity. And it should never be accepted without serious public debate,’ said Tabitha Lean.

‘Communities deserve governments that invest in the conditions that prevent harm, not governments that continually prepare for the use of greater force against the people they claim to serve,’ said Tabitha Lean.

For further comment, please contact Debbie Kilroy on 0419 762 474 or Tabitha Lean on 0499 780 226.