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One of the options premiers and chief ministers \u2014 including NT Chief Minister Lia Finocchiaro \u2014 agreed to explore was limiting the number of guns an individual can own.<\/p>\n
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Lia Finocchiaro agreed to explore changes to NT gun laws at national cabinet. (ABC News: Pete Garnish)<\/p>\n
NSW Premier Chris Minns has recalled his state’s parliament next Monday to consider gun reforms.<\/a><\/p>\n Mr Minns said, among the reforms to be discussed, were proposed limits on the number of firearms a licensed shooter could own.<\/p>\n Earlier this year, Western Australia passed legislation limiting the number of firearms a person could own<\/a> to five, or 10 for farmers.<\/p>\n Chris Minns is proposing stricter gun laws in NSW. (ABC News: Nick Dole)<\/p>\n The NT Firearms Council represents gun owners and is warning against a gun limit in the territory.<\/p>\n President Grant Hatcher said the NT’s current laws were effective, and argued the lack of restrictions on how many guns Territorians can own was not an issue.<\/p>\n “The Firearms Council is appalled at what happened at Bondi Beach \u2014 it was a horrible thing that should never have occurred,”<\/p><\/blockquote>\n he said.<\/p>\n “We just feel that a very emotional time is not the time to make decisions that perhaps aren’t going to be to the best benefit of everybody involved.”<\/p>\n Grant Hatcher is president of the NT Firearms Council. (ABC News: Michael Franchi)<\/p>\n Other options national cabinet agreed to consider were making only Australian citizens eligible to hold a firearms licence and restricting the types of legal weapons.<\/a><\/p>\n Mr Hatcher said there was merit in making gun licences available to only citizens, but warned against other changes.<\/p>\n “We’ve got to get all the facts first,” he said.<\/p>\n Following national cabinet on Monday, Ms Finocchiaro said the NT already had “strong” gun laws and Territorians used firearms for “legitimate and responsible purposes”.<\/p>\n “I will continue to take a territory-first approach at national cabinet,”<\/p><\/blockquote>\n she said.Australia’s gun licence laws<\/a><\/p>\n The Bondi shooter’s gun licence entitled him to an uncapped quantity of certain kinds of rifles and shotguns.<\/p>\n In November, the NT government loosened the territory’s gun laws, removing the mandatory 28-day waiting period for existing Category A and B<\/a> licence holders purchasing another gun of the same category.<\/p>\n At the time, Deputy Chief Minister Gerard Maley said the change “struck the right balance between public safety and fairness for responsible firearm owners”.<\/p>\n He also said the Country Liberal Party was acting on its commitment to “restore the territory lifestyle”.<\/p>\n On Thursday, Mr Maley \u2014 a keen hunter \u2014 shared a Facebook post urging governments to target terrorists, not gun owners.<\/p>\n Deputy NT Chief Minister Gerard Maley is a keen hunter. (Supplied: Facebook)<\/p>\n Around one gun for every five people in NT<\/p>\n Northern Territory Police Force data shows there are 14,268 issued gun licences in the NT, with individuals able to hold more than one type of licence.<\/p>\n There are 55,678 registered firearms in the territory, which has a population of around 260,000.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
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