Rambo-style hunting knives for sale at Westfield shopping centre
Long-bladed knives, swords, axes and other weapons are being sold at a kiosk in a suburban Westfield shopping centre.
As the Minns government prepares to give police new powers to check people for knives in busy areas such as shopping malls, a key-cutting outlet in Westfield Hornsby has Rambo First Blood-branded hunting knives for sale.
Hunting knives for sale at Keyman in Westfield Hornsby.
NSW Labor is tightening laws after a spate of high-profile stabbings, including the Westfield Bondi Junction attack and Wakeley church assault.
The government is also developing legislation modelled on Queensland’s Jack’s Law to empower police to check people for knives without a warrant in designated areas, including transport hubs, shopping centres and other crowded places.
Keyman, which also provides engraving services and shoe repairs at its store displays throwing and hunting knives in a glass cabinet.
Keyman has glass cases of axes, swords and other weapons, including a baseball bat with the words “Good Night”, which the shop manager said were collectable items from movies and television series such as Game of Thrones.
Swords on display at a kiosk in Westfield Hornsby were hefty, but not sharp.
The Rambo hunting knives and other types of knives shown to this masthead had long, sharp blades. The swords, axes and weaponry were hefty, but not sharp.
A sign on a glass cabinet tells shoppers it is a criminal offence to sell knives to anyone aged under 18 and a government-issued ID is required to complete a purchase.
The knives and swords are displayed in locked cabinets but Keyman, which also has a key-cutting kiosk at Westfield Kotara in Newcastle, does not have a lockable door to the kiosk.
This masthead is not suggesting items displayed in the kiosk are being sold illegally.
Westfield Hornsby shopping centre management last week was believed to have discussed the sale of knives at Keyman following the knife attack in Bondi Junction in which six people were killed.
A Westfield Hornsby spokesperson said on Wednesday the safety of customers and business partners was their highest priority.
“We are in direct contact with our business partner about this,” the spokesperson said.
Keyman’s owner was contacted for comment.
A spokesman for the NSW attorney-general said the state had the highest penalties for knife possession in the country.
It is an offence for a person to possess a prohibited weapon, which includes some knives, without a permit and for a person to sell a prohibited weapon to another person unless the purchaser is authorised to possess the prohibited weapon.
Flick, sheath, butterfly and star knives are among the types of knives prohibited in NSW.
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