National firearms amnesty brings illegal guns back in sights
A MASSIVE illegal gun amnesty will see Queensland police stations become firearm surrender sites just weeks after the ambush shooting of police officer Brett Forte.
In the first national mass amnesty since the Port Arthur massacre 20 years ago, the Federal Government will launch the three-month gun hand-in next month in a bid to get the more than 260,000 suspected illegal firearms off the streets.
Toowoomba policeman Senior Constable Forte was gunned down in the Lockyer Valley in May by career criminal Rick Maddison with a high-powered and illegal semiautomatic weapon.
The Australian Criminal Intelligence Commission (ACIC) has warned that limited oversight of private firearm sales in the US can allow people to buy firearms for illegal overseas export into Australia with “relative anonymity”.
The 1996 amnesty and associated buyback resulted in more than 660,000 weapons being handed in.
The amnesty will run until September 30 and people must first contact a police station to advise them a weapon will be handed over. Gun owners will not be paid and no personal details will be required.
Outside the amnesty period, anyone caught with an unregistered firearm faces fines or jail time.