Coalition accused of undermining senate inquiry into illegal firearms market

Updated

Coalition senators have been accused of "kowtowing" to the gun lobby after dismissing the bulk of the recommendations from a Senate inquiry into the illegal firearms market in Australia.

The inquiry, initiated by Greens Senator Penny Wright, found there is very little accurate data about the number of illicit guns in Australia and how they get into the black market, making it nearly impossible to estimate the scale of the problem.

The committee has made several recommendations including more funding for law enforcement agencies to tackle gun crime, nationally consistent gun registration and storage requirements and a rolling gun amnesty.

However, Coalition senators on the committee including Ian MacDonald, Linda Reynolds, Bridget McKenzie and Liberal Democratic Party Senator David Leyonhjelm issued a dissenting report accusing the Greens of trying to demonise licensed and responsible firearms owners.

Senator Wright said while she was disappointed, it was a "politicised inquiry" right from the start.

"It's unfortunate because we worked hard to try to have moderate and reasonable recommendations," she said.

"Recommendations like more funding for law enforcement agencies to tackle gun crime in Australia, updating the National Firearms Agreement, introducing nationally consistent standards for the security of membership data held by gun clubs.

"These weren't controversial or radical recommendations and yet the dissenting senators weren't willing to sign up to any of these."

Nationals Senator Bridget McKenzie rejected those accusations, saying the inquiry was conducted like any other.

"The reality is, this isn't a space for the Commonwealth to be getting involved in, we have a National Firearms Agreement," she said.

"It is a long-standing policy of the Greens to be attempting to get, particularly, pistols off the streets and more highly regulate that.

"We simply recognise the legitimate role that legal gun ownership has in Australian society from a social, economic and environmental perspective."

Guns on black market illegally imported: McKenzie

The Australian Crime Commission (ACC) estimates there are more than 260,000 firearms in the illicit market — 250,000 long-arms and 10,000 handguns.

According to the ACC website, most of those guns have been diverted from the legal market through a variety of means.

"The grey market consists of all long-arms that were not registered, or surrendered as required during the gun buybacks, following the National Firearms Agreement (1996)," the website said.

"Illicit handguns have principally been sourced by criminals who took advantage of differences in state and territory definitions of firearms and other loopholes which have been closed for more than a decade.

What we have found is clear evidence provided by witnesses, including law enforcement agencies, that most guns used to commit a crime do not originate from licensed firearms owners but are in fact illegally imported. Nationals Senator Bridget McKenzie

"Firearms are also diverted to the illicit market through the theft from licensed individuals and firearms dealers, and illegal importation."

Senator McKenzie said she and her Coalition colleagues were wary of the ACC's figures and believed the bulk of guns on the black market had been illegally imported.

"Many of the claims made by Senator Wright, including her statement that 'most illegal guns are not trafficked into Australia, but stolen from registered owners' has not substantiated in the findings of this inquiry," she said.

"What we have found is clear evidence provided by witnesses, including law enforcement agencies, that most guns used to commit a crime do not originate from licensed firearms owners but are in fact illegally imported."

Senator Wright said it was important to consider the whole picture if senators were serious about cracking down on illegal guns.

"The Coalition has kowtowed to the gun lobby. They are refusing to acknowledge the evidence presented to the committee that theft from registered owners is a major source of illicit firearms," she said.

"That said, the Greens acknowledge that gun trafficking is also a significant concern and some police forces believe that illegal imports are on the increase."

In their dissenting report, the Coalition senators and Senator Leyonhjelm called on the Government to commission an inquiry into the benefits of hunting across Australia, improve border control to detect illegal imports and reduce the regulatory burden on the gun industry.

But they did agree with the Labor/Greens recommendation for a rolling nation-wide gun amnesty, to allow people to hand in illegal guns without fear of prosecution.

Topics: government-and-politics, federal-government, law-crime-and-justice, australia

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