{"id":26552,"date":"2026-06-07T20:54:16","date_gmt":"2026-06-07T20:54:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/australia\/26552\/"},"modified":"2026-06-07T20:54:16","modified_gmt":"2026-06-07T20:54:16","slug":"gun-buyback-stalls-as-states-revolt-and-details-stay-hidden","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/australia\/26552\/","title":{"rendered":"Gun buyback stalls as states revolt and details stay hidden"},"content":{"rendered":"

Anthony Albanese\u2019s pledge to hold the biggest gun buyback since the 1996 Port Arthur Massacre is in tatters, with the central reform announced just days after the Bondi mass shooting stricken by opposition from states and territories, as well as growing angst from Labor MPs fearing a One Nation fight in the future. <\/p>\n

Progress on the key plank of reform has stagnated as jurisdictions follow one another in pulling out of the scheme, headlined by Victoria\u2019s Labor government confirming they wouldn\u2019t be involved last month. <\/p>\n

The Australian understands the buyback has also barely been mentioned in federal Labor\u2019s caucus in recent months, with the rise of One Nation over the first half of 2026 triggering concerns within the party that a buyback could hurt Labor MPs in regional seats across the nation.<\/p>\n

The federal government also won\u2019t start a fight by pressuring reluctant states and territories to partake in the scheme, The Australian understands, making it increasingly likely that NSW will be the only state participating. <\/p>\n

Key details on how the buyback will work remain unexplained almost six months after the scheme was announced, with the commonwealth and NSW government refusing to reveal basic information including how the value of surrendered weapons will be determined and whether ammunition will also be purchased. <\/p>\n

The opposition, shooters\u2019 groups and even the Australian Federal Police\u2019s union criticised the lack of progress on the scheme. <\/p>\n

Australian Federal Police Association president Alex Caruana said the slow rollout \u201cwas a contributing factor\u201d to states and territories pulling out. \u201cBut the bigger factor is the legislation was put together as a knee-jerk reaction to a tragic event,\u201d he said. <\/p>\n

\u201cWith the clarity of hindsight, some states are thinking, \u2018does limiting the number of firearms mirror up to the statistics, arrests and interactions we\u2019re having with firearm licence holders?\u2019\u201d <\/p>\n

If the buyback does go ahead, he said every weapon should be test-fired and ballistics gathered, with data gathered to be cross-\u00adreferenced across unsolved crime cases. <\/p>\n

Senior Nationals senator Bridget McKenzie added that six months on from the Bondi attack \u201cthe government cannot provide even simple details about what may or may not be included\u201d. <\/p>\n

Shooting Industry Foundation of Australia chief executive James Walsh said peak bodies representing the sector were growing frustrated with a lack of detail over the buyback. <\/p>\n

\u201cAs a result of the policy changes, there\u2019s been a significant economic impact on industry \u2013 particularly NSW,\u201d he said. <\/p>\n

\u201cWe are pushing the government for information on when it\u2019ll happen and when compensation for industry will come, and they can\u2019t tell us anything. No one knows what\u2019s going on \u2013 it\u2019s just a merry-go-round of bureaucrats at the moment.\u201d <\/p>\n

Sporting Shooters\u2019 Association of Australia\u2019s Tom Kenyon said the longer the buyback stalls \u201cthe further it goes backwards\u201d. <\/p>\n

\u201cThe royal commission is proving that gun laws weren\u2019t the problem \u2013 it was a terrorism problem and a failure of intelligence collection and sharing.\u201d <\/p>\n

Alannah & Madeline Foundation CEO Sarah Davies said the buyback still had to be pursued, and urged all leaders to come back together on it. <\/p>\n

Ms Davies \u2013 whose foundation was set up by Walter Mikac after his wife Nanette and their daughters Alannah and Madeline were killed at Port Arthur \u2013 said a buyback was \u201cthe logical way\u201d to cut \u201cgun-related injury or death\u201d.<\/p>\n

\u201cAustralians need their leaders to work together again,\u201d she said. <\/p>\n

A federal government spokeswoman, asked for specifics on the buyback\u2019s progress, said: \u201cWe continue to work constructively with the states and territories\u201d. <\/p>\n

NSW Police and counter-terrorism Minister Yasmin Catley likewise said the state was \u201cworking closely\u201d with the commonwealth and other jurisdictions \u201cto finalise the details of a firearms buyback scheme\u201d. <\/p>\n

\u201cFurther information about the buyback, including funding and parameters, will be released in due course,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

Despite state and territory leaders initially agreeing to a raft of stronger gun laws in the wake of the Bondi shooting, Victoria now joins Queensland and the Northern Territory in rejecting the \u00adnational buyback.<\/p>\n

South Australia has signalled reluctance to change its own gun laws, Western Australia has already completed its own buyback, and Tasmania is set to reject a proposed gun cap in favour of a smaller scheme targeting specific types of firearms.<\/p>\n

Read related topics:Anthony Albanese<\/a>One Nation<\/a>\"Lachlan<\/a>Lachlan Leeming<\/a>NSW Political Correspondent <\/p>\n

Lachlan Leeming is The Australian’s NSW political reporter. He has previously been a federal political reporter for The Daily Telegraph, working out of the Canberra press gallery. Over his career he has covered politics, local government, natural disasters, crime and court, both in the UK and throughout regional Australia.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Anthony Albanese\u2019s pledge to hold the biggest gun buyback since the 1996 Port Arthur Massacre is in tatters,…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":26553,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[24699,24710,483,22,23,133,21,16797,24713,24719,24721,24716,1366,24729,24711,24715,24700,24708,24704,24706,24728,24703,24709,222,24717,24718,24724,24725,24722,13285,24714,24723,1938,120,24701,24705,212,24720,121,24707,24712,24726,24702,24727,353,7430],"class_list":["post-26552","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-australia","tag-alannah-madeline-foundation","tag-alex-caruana","tag-anthony-albanese","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-australia-and-new-zealand","tag-austrlia","tag-bridget-mckenzie","tag-buyback-scheme","tag-buyback-stalls","tag-details-stay","tag-election-train","tag-federal-government","tag-federal-government-spokeswoman","tag-federal-police-association","tag-firearm-licence-holders","tag-firearm-valuations","tag-firearms-buyback-scheme","tag-firearms-mirror","tag-government-refusing","tag-governments-silent","tag-gun-buyback-details","tag-gun-buyback-stalls","tag-gun-laws","tag-industry-backlash","tag-industry-foundation-of-australia","tag-industry-frustration","tag-intelligence-collection","tag-james-t-walsh","tag-john-howard","tag-key-details","tag-nanette","tag-northern-territory","tag-oceania","tag-outrage-start","tag-policy-changes","tag-queensland","tag-sarah-davies","tag-south-australia","tag-territory-leaders","tag-terrorism-problem","tag-tom-kenyon","tag-unsolved-crime-cases","tag-walter-mikac","tag-western-australia","tag-yasmin-catley"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/australia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/26552","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/australia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/australia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/australia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/australia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=26552"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/australia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/26552\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/australia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/26553"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/australia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=26552"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/australia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=26552"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/australia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=26552"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}