The NSW particular person with probably the most weapons lives in Cremorne on Sydney’s north shore and has an arsenal of 352 firearms.
Knowledge obtained by the Greens exhibits there are dozens of individuals within the state who legally personal greater than 100 weapons every. Eight of these personal 200 or extra every.
The occasion’s federal spokesman on justice, Senator David Shoebridge, mentioned the variety of weapons in Australia had elevated because the 1996 Port Arthur bloodbath.
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“We all know that in Australia there are actually extra weapons than there have been on the time of the Port Arthur bloodbath,” he instructed Crikey. “That is regardless of the proportion of people that have a gun licence persevering with to fall.”
After two cops had been killed in Queensland final week a nationwide dialog about gun legal guidelines was reignited. As Crikey reported earlier this week, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese mentioned after the tragedy that he would focus on sensible methods to enhance knowledge sharing on gun possession on the subsequent nationwide cupboard assembly.
After the Port Arthur bloodbath, Australian leaders made sweeping reforms to gun legal guidelines. Modifications included an settlement to create a nationwide gun registry, however the knowledge on gun possession stays patchy, with states and territories utilizing varied techniques to report on it.
Shoebridge, who was a member of the NSW higher home till earlier this yr, repeatedly took police in that state to courtroom throughout his time in state Parliament to get data on which postcodes have the most important gun collections.
“Particular person gun house owners are shopping for an increasing number of weapons and, in some instances, amassing non-public arsenals, which was by no means meant to occur underneath the nationwide firearms settlement,” he mentioned. “No federal authorities company presently has oversight of the expansion of gun numbers, or replace the nationwide firearms settlement to maintain communities protected from rising threats.”
The NSW possession knowledge was printed by the Greens on a devoted web site, toomanyguns.org, the place individuals can search arsenals by postcode.
Shoebridge mentioned it was tough to match the NSW knowledge assortment in different states and territories.
“Quite than having each jurisdiction in Australia holding firearms knowledge in separate and incompatible techniques, there ought to be a federal registry with real-time and constant data on gun possession and gun numbers,” he mentioned.
“Finally we want gun legal guidelines match for function in 2022 and past, and that requires politicians, state and federal, who’ve the braveness to face as much as the gun foyer.”
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