Queensland has rejected key recommendations from the Bondi royal commission regarding a national gun buyback, stating it won't prevent weapons from reaching terrorists and criminals. The federal government faces frustration as only New South Wales supports the initiative.
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Queensland has rejected key recommendations from the Bondi royal commission’s interim report, insisting plans for a national gun buyback will not keep weapons “out of the hands of terrorists and criminals”.
The report, handed down by commissioner Virginia Bell on Thursday, raised doubts about whether efforts to establish a national gun register after the 2022 police killings at Wieambilla in Queensland had been “unduly leisurely”. Bell recommended the federal government and the states speed up a jointly funded weapons buyback scheme.
Federal Labor is frustrated at opposition to the plans agreed by national cabinet in January.
So far, New South Wales is the only clear supporter of the push, slated as the biggest buyback of guns in Australia since the Port Arthur massacre in 1996.
The Northern Territory government has ruled out participation, while South Australia said earlier this month no changes were under consideration.
Queensland’s continued opposition comes despite premier David Crisafulli calling for the royal commission to be established, as “a great way of making sure that we don’t continue to repeat the mistakes of the past”.
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On Thursday, the police and emergency services minister, Dan Purdie, said the Liberal-National government’s resolve to stamp out antisemitism remained “unwavering”.
“The Crisafulli government supports the recommendation to continue work on an interstate information-sharing program and background check framework as a priority, and has already passed nation-leading laws to keep guns out the hands of criminals and terrorists,” he said.
“Queensland will not be progressing a gun buyback as it doesn’t focus on keeping guns out of the hands of terrorists and criminals, which is what we saw at Bondi.”
The NT government was contacted for comment.
The NSW premier, Chris Minns, said he hoped the recommendation would lead to holdout states changing their thinking, after parliament rushed through tougher gun laws in the days after the December shootings.
“These are common sense changes to the gun laws in our state,” he said. “It’s better if it’s introduced everywhere, but if it’s not, at least NSW will have the strongest firearm laws in the country.”
Victoria is considering the findings of a snap review by former police chief Ken Lay, handed to the government on 30 March.
Any move to toughen gun laws could be politically sensitive ahead of the state election, due in November.
The Bondi royal commission recommended speeding up the establishment of a national gun buyback and a gun register to prevent weapons from falling into the hands of criminals.
Queensland rejected the recommendations, arguing that the proposed national gun buyback would not effectively keep weapons out of the hands of terrorists and criminals.
So far, New South Wales is the only state that has clearly supported the national gun buyback initiative.
The proposed gun buyback is significant as it would be the largest in Australia since the Port Arthur massacre in 1996, aiming to enhance public safety.
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“We are backing the work of national cabinet and further strengthening our gun laws in partnership with the federal government,” a spokesperson said.
One Nation leader, Pauline Hanson, claimed the royal commission would be “a waste of time and taxpayers’ money” if it focused on firearms issues rather than immigration.
Hanson, whose party has previously attempted to solicit millions in donations from America’s National Rifle Association), called the focus on gun laws a “deflection” from the risk of Islamic extremism.
“The interim report states agencies have identified no gap in existing legal and regulatory frameworks that impeded their ability to prevent an attack like Bondi.
“If the system had no gaps – if law enforcement had all the necessary powers – then how did it fail to stop this?”
Federal Labor is yet to outline when the buyback will begin, how long it would run, how much would be spent, and how firearms would be disposed of.
Prime minister Anthony Albanese urged the states to engage constructively, noting this week’s 30th anniversary of the Port Arthur shootings. More than 650,000 firearms were destroyed in the buyback led by the then prime minister, John Howard.
“We’ve put in place the legislation and indeed the financing is there to achieve an outcome which is consistent with the recommendations from the royal commission,” Albanese said.