The family of Torrington man Keith Blessing has again moved to correct the record on his firearms licence, after Member for New England Barnaby Joyce became the latest political figure to claim it was being taken from the man who shot a home intruder in June.
Daughter Kathy Blessing confirmed to the New England Times tonight that her father’s licence has not been revoked. It has only been suspended, which is normal following any incident involving a gun.
Mr and Mrs Blessing were allegedly attacked in their home on Torrington Road shortly after midnight on Thursday, 4 June. Police allege Joshua Dylan Trethewey, 34, forced his way into the house and stabbed the couple with a knife. Mr Blessing slashed the attacker with a kitchen knife and the man left the house. Trethewey then tried to force his way back inside before officers could reach the property, and Mr Blessing shot him once in the abdomen with a legally owned and registered firearm.
At the time, police said Mr Blessing had a right to defend himself and his wife.
“A person is entitled to use reasonable force to defend themselves,” said New England Police Superintendent Chris McKinnon.
Days later, speaking on Sydney radio station 2GB, Mr Minns also backed the Torrington grandfather.
“I think Keith acted like a hero in these circumstances,” Mr Minns said.
Police said in June they could not rule out charges against Mr Blessing until the investigation was complete. No charges against him have been announced.
The confirmation that Mr Blessing’s license has not been revoked follows days of claims across social media, conservative media, and even the NSW Parliament that the 75-year-old had lost his licence for good.
Much of the claim has come from the Shooters, Fishers and Farmers Party, in full campaign mode ahead of the March 2027 state election.
The party’s MLC Mark Banasiak told NSW Parliament on September 16 the licence had been revoked.
“Unfortunately this Premier’s words are not worth much, as Keith Blessing has now had his firearms licence revoked,” Mr Banasiak falsely claimed.
“Hero in June. Unfit in September,” he said.
Mr Blessing’s wife Di had corrected the claim in a public online post on Friday, 18 September, as the misinformation started to swirl.
“Just correcting a misunderstanding,” Mrs Blessing wrote.
“Keith’s firearm license was suspended back in June due to the police enquiry.”
“Keith recently phoned the Firearms Licensing Board to enquire whether it could be restored to him and was told it could take a further 12 months for them to make a decision (to restore or revoked).”
That leaves the outcome undecided. The family could wait up to a year to learn whether the licence will be restored or revoked, and no decision has yet been made either way.
Despite the family’s correction, the misinformation spread rapidly. In addition to numerous social media posts, the SFF party’s NSW State Director, Robert Borsak Jnr, also repeated the false claim in an opinion piece for Sporting Shooter magazine on Tuesday, 22 September, writing that the Firearms Registry had revoked the licence. Mr Borsak is the son of the party’s long-serving MLC, Robert Borsak.
The piece also argued Mr Blessing had no independent avenue of appeal, because NSW Government changes had removed NCAT review of firearms licensing decisions, leaving only an internal review by NSW Police.
Now Barnaby Joyce has issued a statement, dated Monday, 21 September, and posted on his social media on the 24th of September, again falsely claiming that Mr Blessing’s licence was being revoked, calling for Mr Blessing to be honoured rather than disarmed.
“I would not be taking Keith’s gun license; I would be giving him a medal,” Mr Joyce stated.
Mr Joyce described the Blessings as “a beautiful couple, hardly a threat to anyone” and claimed authorities were in the process of removing Mr Blessing’s licence, which he said showed “the total absurdity of the justice system”.
“Out here we are remote and bad men know it,” he stated.
“There are no police coming to save you if the bad man is at your door, you have to work it out for yourself or possibly be killed.”
Mr Joyce then turned his statement into an election pitch.
“So, here is my tip to the Labor Party. You are going to get an absolute towelling at the next election,” Mr Joyce stated.
“There is a chance you may lose.”
“One Nation is absolutely on the side of Regional Australians, legally owning firearms and protecting themselves when in absolute peril.”
He also parroted the works of the Shooters and Fishers, taking aim at Premier Chris Minns, who had praised Mr Blessing in June.
“I suggest that the Premier talks to his Party Room about how to extract his party from this very bad news story.”
It is unclear whether Mr Joyce spoke with the Blessing family before releasing the statement. It is equally unclear how this misinformation spiral got started. It is clear that neither One Nation nor Shooters, Fishers and Farmers have much genuine concern for the Blessing family, or what this added scrutiny and attention might do for their recovery, as they blatantly manipulate the story for political gain.
The confusion comes as remote communities across Tenterfield Shire are already rattled by another violent crime this month, with a 70 year old woman found decapitated at Mole River last weekend.
For the Blessings, the question of Keith’s licence remains open, and the family says the public claims have got ahead of the facts.
“To our knowledge it has not been revoked,” Mrs Blessing said.
New England Times has made several attempts to contact Mr Joyce’s office this evening by phone and email and was unable to reach him.
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