People need to get a permit for a gardening implement? That might as well be a ban because noone is going to do that.

That will either stymie a lot of people who do legitimately need one or be useless. For example I have a machete and several legitimate uses for it - clearing a bunch of running bamboo on my (residential) block, clearing blackberry etc from single track for the dirt bike, and clearing lantana etc on my grandad's property. If they require something like proof of owning rural land I would be blocked from legitimate use (if I lived in Vic), if they take me at my word what's to stop any man and his dog claiming similar and then we're back where we started but with more bureaucracy.