Sep 22, 2021

Elderly Queensland farmer fined for carrying a pocket knife

Elderly Queensland farmer fined for carrying a pocket knife

Wayne McLennan, 75, was in the process of heading home from his local pub in the rural Queensland town of Chinchilla, when he was breathalysed by police and found to be slightly over the legal alcohol limit.

Mr McLennan was then taken to his local police station where a second blood alcohol test found that the grandfather was actually under the legal limit. 

While he may have been lucky enough to avoid any penalties relating to alcohol, police noticed that Mr McLennan was carrying a pocket knife and chose to issue him with a fine.

Under Section 51 of Queensland’s Weapons Act, people are not permitted to carry a knife in public without a reasonable excuse. However, locals insist that the police are being unreasonable.

“Oh it’s ridiculous,” said Chinchilla resident Tom Latimore.

Having grown up on the land all his life, Mr McLennan has carried a pocket knife at all times since the age of 14, and he had no idea that his pocket knife would ever be classed as an illegal weapon. 

As a lifelong farmer, a pocket knife has practical uses for Mr McLennan, which locals feel should qualify as a ‘reasonable excuse’ and not be viewed as illegal. 

“If I got to go and put a bale of hay out, I use it to cut the string and then open a bag of horse feed, use it to open the top,” Mr McLennan told A Current Affair.

Since being fined, Mr McLennan revealed that he has stopped carrying his pocket knife after doing so for more than 60 years.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

    1. How ruddy ridiculous. Pathetic cops missed out on the dui charge so pick on something paltry anyway. No wonder police are losing our respect.

  1. I would like to give Mr McLennan $100 … please advise how I can do this … so disgusted with this act of stupidity. The police need to go and do something worthwhile!

  2. Unbelievable. That pocket knife could be the tool that would save his life. I hope it gets thrown out of court.

  3. This is just another example of the way the world is going. Passing laws and having them implemented with no room for common sense.

  4. I lived in Queensland for 10 years Gold Coast region I’m ex army and my upstanding of the Knife law of Queensland is that you are allowed to carry a swiss army knife or pen knife for personal use ie you use the utility for of the swiss knife.
    So in saying the judge should get a kick in the pants as should the police for not knowing the knife law on the subject.

Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement

Cameras in aged care: “Would you want your mother and father to be filmed in their bedroom?”

Installing cameras in the bedrooms of aged care residents might catch some cases of abuse, but what would the cost be? If we are to truly respect the autonomy and dignity of older people, surely we should allow them the “last bastion of privacy” – the bedroom. Mounting pressure to instal cameras in aged care... Read More

Dementia: Training the Brain and the Body

Most of us know that exercise is good for us. Magazines, newspapers and TV programs constantly remind us that regular exercise can protect against obesity and any number of chronic diseases including hypertension, heart disease and type 2 diabetes. But did you know that it may also help protect the brain from dementia as we... Read More

Grandmother saved from choking by nine-year-old

An elderly woman who found herself in a potential life or death situation has been saved by the unlikeliest of heroes. Read More
Advertisement