$60m for gun register
National database for cops to monitor firearms
The Albanese government is set to commit fresh funding to establish a National Firearms Register – a new countrywide database designed to bolster community safety – following the tragic Wieambilla shootings in Queensland in 2022.
In the federal budget on May 14, $161.3m will be allocated over four years to establish the register, with state and territory firearms-management systems upgraded to be compliant with the new commonwealth database.
The commitment follows an agreement clinched by national cabinet in December. However, the funding arrangements to implement the new program had since become a sticking point for the reform to progress.
It is understood SA, Tasmania, the Northern Territory and the ACT could each require as much as $30m to connect to a new federal database.
The Wieambilla tragedy was the catalyst for progressing the reform, which was originally recommended following the 1996 Port Arthur massacre response.
Constables Rachel McCrow and Matthew Arnold, and neighbour Alan Dawe were shot and killed by three
Christian extremists – Gareth, Nathaniel and Stacey Train – at a remote property 300km west of Brisbane. One was a licensed firearms holder.
The register will allow law enforcement to assess firearms risks by providing frontline police officers across the country with near real-time information on firearms, parts and owners.
Firearms information will also be linked to other relevant police and government information, including data from the National Criminal Intelligence System.
“This National Firearms Register is the most significant improvement in Australia’s firearms management systems in almost 30 years and will keep our community safer,” Attorney-General Mark Dreyfus said.
“Once established, police will know where firearms are, who owns them, and what other risks to the community and police may exist.
“The Australian government is committed to protecting the Australian community and ensuring Australia’s firearms laws remain among the most effective in the world.”