Source : Perth Now news
More than 2000 firearms are set to be handed over to police in the coming weeks as one state’s gun buyback scheme gets under way.
NSW Premier Chris Minns announced the scheme following the mass shooting at Bondi Beach in December, which killed 15 people and injured dozens more.
The first phase begins on Monday, with 331 appointments already made at six police stations across the state.
Mr Minns said 2430 guns had been registered for surrender, as well as 194 ammunition items.
Only registered guns are eligible for the scheme, but unregistered guns can be handed over as part of a federal amnesty scheme.
“Whether they’re legal or unregistered, we want them off our streets,” Mr Minns told ABC News Breakfast.
“Guns are responsible for murders in our state.”
He said people needed to make an appointment online, and could not turn up to hand over weapons without one.
Under the first phase, owners will be compensated $450 to $1000 per weapon within ten days of surrendering them.
More guns are in circulation around Australia today than before the 1996 Port Arthur Massacre, Mr Minns said.
The worst mass shooting in Australian history, during which 35 people were killed, prompted a national gun buyback scheme.
More than 650,000 firearms were surrendered.
In the next phase of the scheme beginning December 1, another 34 police stations will start accepting appointments, with 146 to come online by February.
The premier had previously encouraged other states to take part in the buyback, but said such negotiations had not been successful.
“I would like it to be a national scheme,” he told ABC radio.
“But if NSW has to go it alone with the toughest gun laws of any jurisdiction in the country, that’s exactly what we’ll do.
“I believe it will make us safer as a result.”
Appointments are being accepted at the Sutherland, Penrith, Narellan, Grafton, Griffith and Dubbo Police Stations.
Funding support packages for the firearms industry will also be rolled out from Monday, with eligible businesses set to receive a one-off payment of up to $25,000.
Eligible gun dealers can get licence fee relief payments of up to $500.
The scheme will cost hundreds of millions of dollars, split between the NSW and federal governments.
