source : the age
By snubbing a post-Bondi firearm buyback while New South Wales pushes ahead, Queensland is poised to become Australia’s most armed state.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and NSW Premier Chris Minns announced on Sunday that his state would introduce its largest buyback scheme since Port Arthur, more than three decades ago.
Plans for a national scheme have collapsed, with NSW the only state to sign up.
Speaking at the announcement of a Redland Hospital expansion on Sunday, Queensland Health Minister Tim Nicholls said the Crisafulli government did not believe the scheme would be effective.
“Queensland, like Victoria and South Australia and the Northern Territory, does not believe that the gun buyback scheme is a value-for-money proposition in terms of dealing with the issues that arose out of Bondi – and those issues were around criminals and terrorists,” he said.
“We are focusing on ensuring that guns don’t get into the hands of criminals and terrorists and non-law-abiding citizens, that we are focusing on the causes of things like what we saw in Bondi – the antisemitism and the hate – rather than penalising law-abiding citizens.
“We have been very clear about that since day one, and I do note that other states now are following Queensland’s lead in relation to that proposal.”
Nicholls found himself singing from the same hymn sheet as One Nation leader Pauline Hanson, who said legal gun owners were being “crucified”.
“Look at the radicals. Look at the numbers that are on the watch list. This is what we should be going after – not law-abiding Australians who are trying to go about their business, like the farmers that need their guns,” she told News24.
Undeterred, Albanese said the scheme remained available to all states and territories, with which he would work constructively on the issue.
“They will make their own decisions – under our federation system, they are responsible,” he said.
“But what I would say and reiterate is that, in the Commonwealth, they have a willing partner.”
Minns said it would be better if every state was on board with the scheme.
“I’m not going to let perfection be the enemy of the good here,” he said.
“We’re also not going to wait for every state to come on board. We feel this is necessary for our state today, and if it means we’re the first mover, or even the only mover, that’s what we need to do.”
Department of Home Affairs figures show Queensland is second only to NSW when it comes to gun ownership, with 1.14 million firearms, compared to 1.16 million in NSW.
About 50,000 NSW licence-holders will have to surrender firearms under the changes, which are due to begin on November 2, with the new laws to limit most owners to a maximum of four guns. Primary producers and sport shooters will be restricted to 10.
About 274,000 firearms will have to be handed back to comply with the limits.
Asked whether he was comfortable with Queensland likely becoming Australia’s most armed state once the NSW scheme took effect, Nicholls stood firm.
“I’m comfortable that we are focused on making sure that guns don’t get into the hands of criminals and terrorists and people who don’t abide with the law – that’s the most important aspect of it,” he said.
“The other part of it that we really need to deal with is calling out the antisemitism and hate that has been allowed to grow over the last three or four years here in Australia, and so our actions have all been focused on ensuring that, firstly, criminals and terrorists can’t get their hands on weapons, and secondly, that we do everything we can to reduce the incidence of antisemitism and hate speech throughout Queensland.”
