The gun lobby claims it is \u201cwinning\u201d the fight against Australia\u2019s longstanding crackdown on firearms, pointing to a sharp increase in licensed gun owners and weapons since new laws were introduced in the aftermath of the 1996 Port Arthur massacre as a sign of its strength.<\/p>\n
The claim, made in a June video address to members of the Shooters Union lobby group, comes as half a dozen Australian pro-gun groups band together for the first time to resist more national firearm restrictions.<\/p>\n
Australia\u2019s gun laws are held up as the global gold standard for community safety, but almost 30 years since a national firearms agreement was introduced after Martin Bryant shot and killed 35 people in Tasmania, experts say these laws must be galvanised.<\/p>\n
At the same time, the gun lobby is mobilising.<\/p>\n
In May, a group of national shooting bodies met in the Australian capital to discuss how best to respond to what they describe as a \u201cgrowing attack\u201d on firearm users, and the need for a unified position.<\/p>\n
The group met again in late July.<\/p>\n
Sign up: AU Breaking News email<\/a><\/p>\n The lobby is alarmed especially by new firearms laws introduced in Western Australia, which have \u2013 among other measures \u2013 limited the number of guns that an individual licence holder can own.<\/p>\n Former Australian prime minister John Howard lays a wreath in memory of the people killed in the mass shooting at Port Arthur. Photograph: David Gray\/Reuters<\/p>\n Figures show the number of legal guns in Australia is booming. According to a January report by thinktank The Australia Institute, there are more than 4m guns nationally, almost double the number recorded in the years after the Port Arthur massacre that prompted a national crackdown, according to a report commissioned by gun safety groups.<\/p>\n Q&AHow did Australia change its gun laws after the Port Arthur massacre?Show<\/p>\n After the 1996 mass shooting in Port Arthur that killed 35 people, the Australian government enacted the national firearms agreement<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n The deal between the federal and state governments aimed to make gun laws broadly uniform across states and territories. It introduced mandatory licensing, rules for secure storage and use, and restrictions on semiautomatic rifles and pump action shotguns.<\/p>\n There was a buyback scheme for guns that were now classed as illegal. Australians could voluntarily give up weapons in exchange for financial compensation \u2013 leading to the surrender of more than 600,000 firearms.<\/p>\n Owners would also need a \u201cgenuine reason\u201d for having guns, such as hunting or sports shooting, and personal protection was not a valid reason. The agreement specifically states that firearm possession is a privilege, not a right.<\/p>\n This sets Australia apart from other countries, most notably the United States, where a right to bear arms is included in its constitution. US Congress and state legislatures have passed some gun control measures, including mandated background checks but, unlike Australia, most states have not banned assault weapons.<\/p>\n Gun ownership in the UK is also considered a privilege, not a right, and new laws have similarly responded to mass shootings, including the 1987 Hungerford massacre. Certain semiautomatic rifles were banned and police must consider reasons for ownership before issuing a licence.<\/p>\n The effectiveness of Australia\u2019s gun control measures remain a matter of debate, and some elements are yet to be fully enacted almost 30 years later, including the nationwide firearms register.<\/p>\n Thank you for your feedback.<\/p>\n Over the past five years, this number has been rising. Data obtained by Guardian Australia from state and territory firearm registers show that in this period, there has been a more than 10% increase in guns in Victoria and NSW, a 30% rise in Queensland and a 45% spike in the Northern Territory.<\/p>\n There are at least 2,000 new guns lawfully entering the community every week.<\/p>\n NSW firearm registry data shows that in Sydney there are more than 70 individuals who own more than 100 firearms, including one person who owns 385 guns. The register notes that this is not a collector or a dealer.<\/p>\n Graham Park, the president of Shooters Union Australia, told supporters shooters need to resist a \u201cdefeatist attitude\u201d in the face of attempts to restrict firearm ownership.<\/p>\n He also outlined a strategy to double the number of licensed firearm holders in the country over the next few years to increase the gun lobby\u2019s political power.<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019re actually winning, and when I say \u2018we\u2019, I mean you as firearm owners anywhere in Australia \u2013 you\u2019re actually winning,\u201d Park said in the 16 June member update.<\/p>\n He described the national firearms agreement, devised by the Howard government and which was reached 12 days after the Port Arthur massacre on 28 April 1996, as the \u201cwet dream of the anti-gunners\u201d.<\/p>\n \u201cThey thought what would happen is shooters would just fade away and that there would be maybe left a few farmers who needed guns for work and a few old blokes \u2026 shooting their single-shot target rifles at the range and that\u2019s it.\u201d<\/p>\n Registered firearms in Australia<\/a><\/p>\n But Park claimed the increase in ownership to more than 4m guns since the agreement was signed shows the push to restrict ownership has failed.<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019ve been winning because, every year since about \u201899 or 2000, the number of shooters in your state, and every other state, has grown and grown and grown.\u201d<\/p>\n Park said it was \u201cnot rocket science\u201d that \u201ccriminals and crazy people\u201d should be restricted from owning guns. \u201cWe [licensed gun owners] all want that. We want that more than anyone else,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n The union is urging licence holders to remain active even if they are no longer using firearms and is encouraging members to recruit others.<\/p>\n \u201cThe more people with gun licences, the more political influence,\u201d Park said.<\/p>\n \u201cPoliticians are going to pay attention because politicians respect numbers, and the last thing they want to do is to irritate big blocks of people.\u201d<\/p>\n Guns handed over as part of Australia\u2019s national gun buyback scheme are damaged so they can\u2019t be used again. Photograph: Reuter\/Reuters<\/p>\n He said the existence of a strong gun community is \u201ca victory against those who hate basic Australian traditional values and fairness\u201d.<\/p>\n In response to questions, Park told Guardian Australia the Shooters Union supports many aspects of the national firearms agreement, including licensing, secure storage and the requirement to have a \u201cgenuine reason\u201d to own a gun.<\/p>\n \u201cAs an organisation, we do not support people having an absolute right to own firearms for whatever reason they feel like,\u201d he said. \u201cAnd frankly, we are getting tired of extremist gun control activists pushing the false narrative that any changes \u2013 no matter how minor or sensible in favour of licensed shooters \u2013 to our gun laws will somehow turn the country in[to] a war zone or \u2018make it like America\u2019.\u201d<\/p>\n Park was one of the shooting group representatives who attended the May meeting in Canberra, which was convened by gun industry lobby group, the Shooting Industry Foundation of Australia (Sifa). The Sporting Shooters Association of Australia, Field & Game Australia, International Practical Shooting Confederation Australia, Sporting Clays Australia, and the National Rifle Association of Australia also took part.<\/p>\n \u201cThe purpose of the meeting was to explore how we can unify shooting organisations so that we can coordinate our efforts on key issues and strengthen our voice in advocating for all licensed firearms owners, businesses, and the broader shooting and hunting community,\u201d a statement from Sifa said, describing their alliance as a \u201chistoric collaboration\u201d.<\/p>\n In July, the Australian Clay Target Association and the Australian Deer Association joined the group at its second meeting, where they all agreed to push for the reinstatement of a federal firearms advisory committee to advise government.<\/p>\n The organisations are also pushing back against any move to restrict gun ownership as part of a new national firearms register that was agreed to by state and territory leaders in 2023. It is due to come into effect in 2028 and will allow data sharing and firearms tracing between jurisdictions.<\/p>\n skip past newsletter promotion<\/a><\/p>\n Sign up to Breaking News Australia<\/p>\n Get the most important news as it breaks<\/p>\n Privacy Notice: <\/strong>Newsletters may contain info about charities, online ads, and content funded by outside parties. For more information see our Privacy Policy<\/a>. We use Google reCaptcha to protect our website and the Google Privacy Policy<\/a> and Terms of Service<\/a> apply.<\/p>\n after newsletter promotion<\/p>\n A giant magnet picks up prohibited firearms at a scrap-metal yard after they were handed in under the Australian government\u2019s buyback scheme. Photograph: David Gray\/Reuters<\/p>\n Sifa has opposed the move to implement the register, saying it is unnecessary, while Park said it was \u201can expensive and unworkable duplication of something that already exists at state level\u201d.<\/p>\n Two federal politicians are backing the formation of the more powerful and united gun lobby, with Nationals senator Bridget McKenzie and Labor MP and Olympic shooter Dan Repacholi encouraging shooting groups to become more politically active.<\/p>\n Speaking at a newly created online national gun conference last year, attended by many of the same organisations, McKenzie said she was happy to see \u201cone united conversation\u201d with shooting groups.<\/p>\n She also told people who attended the forum (convened by a group called Politics Reloaded) to help \u201cnormalise hunting and shooting and to normalise hunters and shooters in the eyes of the broader Australian public\u201d.<\/p>\n \u201cThere\u2019s a militancy, there\u2019s a political arm \u2026 that has to be employed, but the social licence to be militant, to be political, also has to come with a legitimacy, and that legitimacy in a democracy like ours comes from people accepting that you have a right and a privilege to do what we want to do,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n Bridget McKenzie wants to \u2018normalise hunters and shooters in the eyes of the broader Australian public\u2019. Photograph: Mick Tsikas\/AAP<\/p>\n McKenzie welcomed the idea of shooting groups forming a \u201ccaucus\u201d to lobby the government, saying this was more effective than having individual groups trying to get their message across.<\/p>\n She said: \u201cWe are well resourced\u201d \u2013 in apparent reference to the shooting industry \u2013 and said she believed it was \u201csuper possible\u201d to form a stronger alliance.<\/p>\n Speaking ahead of the WA state election, McKenzie also said that by activating supporters of shooting before the election, \u201cthere\u2019s a lot of mischief you can make in that period of time\u201d.<\/p>\n Repacholi has also spoken with the Politics Reloaded group, advising them on what shooters can do to \u201cengage and use the political process\u201d, such as employing professional lobbyists.<\/p>\n \u201cWe need to make sure we have got the right people in there [parliament] singing the right tune,\u201d he said in a March 2024 podcast.<\/p>\n Repacholi told the Guardian he supported a national firearm registry that was developed in consultation with industry.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019ve always backed responsible firearm ownership for sport, farming and other legit reasons. Our gun laws are there for a reason, to keep people safe and they\u2019ve worked well for decades. If the number of guns goes up, it\u2019s got to be matched with strong checks and balances.\u201d<\/p>\n Labor MP Dan Repacholi has encouraged shooting groups to become more politically active. Photograph: Lukas Coch\/AAP<\/p>\n Tim Quinn, president of Gun Control Australia, says it is \u201cextremely easy\u201d to obtain a firearm in Australia and warns against complacency because the number of guns in Australia is \u201cgetting bigger, faster\u201d.<\/p>\n \u201cWe are obviously very proud of our gun laws, but there are so many loose processes that we can fix,\u201d Quinn told Guardian Australia.<\/p>\n \u201cPeople don\u2019t know the nuance of that, and they don\u2019t know the individual law \u2013 what they do know is they don\u2019t want a society that has got more guns in it, and the number of guns is going up, and it is going up at an alarming rate,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n Quinn says he is concerned about the growing strength of the gun lobby and its new alliance.<\/p>\n The national convener of the Australian Gun Safety Alliance, Stephen Bendle, says the WA legislation \u201chas scared the pants off [the gun lobby]\u201d, but he says the reforms are reasonable and should be adopted nationally.<\/p>\n \u201cThe owning and possession of a firearm is a privilege conditional on the matter of public safety \u2013 that is written into every firearm act in the country \u2013 and I think the firearm industry has forgotten that,\u201d he says. \u201c[They] think it is a right to be able to own 385 firearms.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThe community doesn\u2019t expect that there is open slather on getting as many legal guns as you can and having them stored [in homes] in suburban streets.\u201d<\/p>\n WA police commander Lawrence Panaia says he hopes other states will see the state\u2019s reforms as a \u201cbeacon\u201d that has public safety as a guiding principle, and follow suit. But he says the \u201cpolitics is going to be difficult\u201d.<\/p>\n \u201cYou have a professional gun lobby that continually tries to disrupt the process,\u201d he says. \u201cThey will fight it on every single front. Everything you do will be questioned.\u201d<\/p>\n He says it \u201cbeggars belief\u201d that someone in NSW can claim a genuine reason for having almost 400 guns.<\/p>\n \u201cThe real question here is \u2026 what genuine need or reason could there be to have 400 firearms? What could it possibly be?\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The gun lobby claims it is \u201cwinning\u201d the fight against Australia\u2019s longstanding crackdown on firearms, pointing to a…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":370742,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[12,26],"class_list":{"0":"post-370741","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-world","8":"tag-news","9":"tag-world"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@uk\/115085983380763520","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/370741","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=370741"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/370741\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/370742"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=370741"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=370741"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=370741"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}