Authorities could have access to details of firearm ownership across Australia in the near future after Prime Minister Anthony Albanese confirmed the creation of a national database was on the cards.
Currently, firearms are registered on a state-by-state basis in Australia, yet the violent shooting of two police officers in Queensland last December has spurred political leaders to expand the system nationwide.
On Jan. 3, Prime Minister Albanese said, after a National Cabinet meeting of the country’s premiers and chief ministers, that more needed to be done between the jurisdictions.
“That was part of the issue that has been identified in Queensland, and we agreed we'd report back by the middle of the year through, the Attorneys-General Ministerial Council on the options to implement a National Firearms Register, and it’s agreed that that would be a necessary measure,” he told reporters after the meeting.
Albanese also revealed that Australia’s leaders invited the director-general of the Australian Security and Intelligence Organisation (ASIO), Mike Burgess, to speak to them about the rise of right-wing extremism.
“In particular, the so-called sovereign citizens, and other issues as well, and we had a high- national security briefing on that for the premiers and chief ministers.”
Western Australia Premier Mark McGowan backed the move saying it “has to happen.”
Calls for National Registry After Deadly Siege
Calls for a national registry began soon after a deadly siege in Wieambilla, Queensland, which claimed the lives of six individuals, including two police officers, an innocent bystander, and the three shooters.Police found, within the property of the three assailants, “considerable weaponry,” including unregistered rifles and shotguns.
“Weapons—they are not an issue in the right hands. But you need to look at the licencing system, the national database, and can we do better?” said Ian Leavers, head of the Queensland Police Union.
Australia first introduced strident gun regulations in 1996 after Martin Bryant killed 35 people with two semi-automatics at the tourist destination of Port Arthur in the state of Tasmania.
In response, the federal government rolled out a gun buy-back scheme (funded by extra tax revenue), which has seen ownership of guns drop by 48 percent since 1997. Now 3.5 million guns are owned by Australians.
States and territories now operate individual licensing systems that restrict gun ownership to activities such as farming, pest control, recreational hunting, sport, animal welfare, and certain businesses.
The University of Sydney estimated in 2021 that there were currently 3.5 million registered firearms in the country (population over 25 million) with 868,000 owners.
The university also estimates there are 260,000 illegal firearms on the “grey market” or are undeclared. However, there have been reports that the figure could be as high as 600,000, which in a population of 26 million suggests that one in every 43 Australians potentially could access an illegal firearm.
The National Firearms Amnesty program was approved in 2019 by the then Coalition government. However, the program was delayed until July 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
