As state and territory leaders consider tougher gun laws, the Tasmanian government is under pressure from interest groups and advocates on all sides of the debate.
On Monday, state and territory leaders agreed to look at strengthening Australia’s gun laws in light of the Bondi attack.
Australia introduced a National Firearms Agreement (NFA) and sweeping gun control measures after the 1996 Port Arthur massacre, but laws vary between jurisdictions.
For example, Western Australia is the only jurisdiction with a cap on the number of firearms a licence holder can own.
Australia’s firearms hit record-high numbers
State and territory leaders are now considering options, including accelerating the launch of a national firearms register — first recommended after Port Arthur — limiting the number of guns a single person can own and further restricting the types of weapons that are legal, as well as making Australian citizenship a “condition” of a firearm licence.
New South Wales Premier Chris Minns has already said that state’s parliament will be recalled before Christmas to debate new gun control laws, including capping the number of firearms a licenced shooter can own.
A Tasmanian farmers’ group says any legislation should be looked at after Christmas, when “we’ve all got clear heads”. (Unsplash: Sebastian Pociecha)
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On Tuesday, Gun Control Australia vice-president and Hobart lawyer Roland Browne told ABC Radio Tasmania Mornings the national registry should be a priority for gun law reforms, as well as keeping guns out of the hands of children.
He also questioned recreational shooting.
“We need to see guns as tools, we need to identify those categories of licences that have a social utility and public safety considerations as paramount and those are collectors, farmers, people involved in animal population control and target shooters,” Mr Browne said.
“Our experience is, as a generalisation, people with those licences are safe with their guns, they store them properly.
“But the same can’t be said for the anomalous category of recreational hunting, which is ambiguous.
“It’s not defined and it’s basically a licence to go and shoot animals as part of recreation.”
The head of a farmers’ group says “many of our legislators don’t understand what happens on the farm”. (Pixabay)
There were 155,477 registered firearms in Tasmania in 2024-25, and 37,207 licence holders, according to Tasmania Police figures.
That compares with 147,388 firearms and 66,778 licence holders in 2021-22.
Proposed changes since 1996
There have been changes proposed and made to Tasmania’s gun laws since the Firearms Act was introduced in 1996, some of them controversial.
On the eve of the 2018 state election, it was revealed that the Liberals had quietly circulated a new gun law policy to interest groups that would have allowed some licence holders access to silencers and extend gun licence duration.
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Then-premier Will Hodgman ditched the policy a few months later, amid public outcry and concern the new laws would have undermined the NFA.
In 2023, the Act was amended to reclassify lever-action shotguns with a magazine capacity of no more than five rounds of ammunition, bringing Tasmania into line with the NFA.
Gun control advocates argued such lever-action firearms should have instead been moved into the same, more restrictive, category as self-loading and pump-action firearms.
In the same year, the government also amended legislation to include offences for the possession of 3D printer blueprints for firearms and parts, and to include toy firearms in offences.
People lay floral tributes at Bondi Beach on Monday. (ABC News: Jak Rowland)
In January 2024, the Police Commissioner announced she would be cancelling an exemption to the Firearms Act 1996 that excluded antique firearms from licensing, registration and storage provisions.
But just weeks later, both major parties vowed to reverse the decision.
The government is still drafting a bill relating to antique firearms.
Legislation ‘would not have stopped’ Bondi, MP says
The push to strengthen gun laws is facing resistance in Tasmania.
Tasmanian Shooters, Fishers and Farmers MP Carlo Di Falco said it would be a mistake to change gun laws as a result of Sunday’s terrorist attack.
“No amount of legislation would’ve stopped what happened on Sunday,” Mr Di Falco said.
He said the focus should be on the actions of intelligence agencies, rather than on changing gun laws.
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TasFarmers chair Ian Sauer told ABC’s Country Hour that farmers were worried, given they used a range of different firearms for different purposes, such as euthanising animals and controlling wildlife.
“The problem farmers see is many of our legislators don’t understand what happens on the farm and they can make decisions which the farming community will have to bear.”
Mr Sauer said legislation should be looked at after Christmas, when “we’ve all got clear heads”.
Tasmania ‘won’t ban’ guns for recreational shooters
The minority Liberal government needs to keep crossbenchers happy, but while Mr Di Falco is resisting changes, the Tasmanian Greens, who have five of the eleven crossbenchers, have called for tighter rules around gun ownership.
The Tasmanian government has agreed to a national approach to any changes.
In a statement, Premier Jeremy Rockliff said the government would “continue to work with the federal government in a careful and considered manner on this issue”.
But he drew the line at getting rid of recreational licences.
Government minister Jane Howlett said there would be “no changes as far as our recreational shooters are concerned”.
“It’s very important for our deer control, vermin control and recreational shooters, it’s a sport … and we’re very supportive of our recreational hunters,” Ms Howlett said.