IT COSTS almost $9 million a year to maintain Victoria’s firearm registry.

The most recent figures available showed that in 2011-12 Victoria Police were allocated $8.97 million to administer registry services “which includes the Register of Firearms as well as licensing, permits and approvals for private security and weapon related applications”.

“This cost covers the running and maintenance of registry IT systems, processing firearms, private security and weapons applications and permits, staff to manage registry services, and also some compliance and enforcement activity, for example conducting probity checks, auditing firearm dealers and completing inspections on licence holders,” a Victoria Police spokeswoman said.

Victorian MP Daniel Young recently called for the registry to be abolished, suggesting it did not prevent crime and was a waste of money, but the State Government has no plans to change the registry.

Meanwhile, the Australian Medical Association is now calling for a national, real-time registry of gun ownership.

The AMA claimed gun deaths in Australia had halved in the 20 years since the Port Arthur massacre, but it said a rise in illegal gun ownership — a recent Australian Criminal Intelligence Commission estimate of 260,000 illegal firearms is seen as conservative — and inconsistencies between state and territory laws were “a major public health concern”.

AMA vice president Tony Bartone said suicide made up 77 per cent of gun deaths in Australia.

The AMA also called for a ban on high-powered semi-automatic weapons and strict penalties — including confiscation of weapons — for gun licence holders who did not notify of a change of address.

The Combined Firearms Council of Victoria opposed the AMA’s call for stricter regulation, arguing “just 3 per cent of firearms used in crimes were from a legal source, including police and military”.

The CFCV said consistency regarding gun ownership between states could be improved. “You can drive interstate on a Victorian licence … unfortunately our gun laws don’t work in the same way, and they should.”