Fixing inconsistencies between states on the sale of weapons and membership of gun clubs, and implementing a nationwide gun amnesty and would help reduce the number of illegal firearms in Australia, an inquiry has found.
But the Senate inquiry into eliminating gun violence found that guns manufactured from 3D printers posed little risk to society.
The committee chairwoman, Greens senator Penny Wright, welcomed the recommendation to give more money to law enforcement agencies to tackle gun crime.
“If we’re serious about addressing gun crime in Australia and reducing the number of illegal firearms, all governments need to work together and all the agencies should be talking the same language,” Wright said.
The committee report found there were about 260,000 illegal firearms in circulation, though it conceded it was hard to be exact because of the nature of the black market.
“It was staggering how little accurate data there is about the illicit firearms market in Australia and how many barriers and inconsistencies there are between different governments,” Wright said.
The report found that the regulations put in place after the 1996 Port Arthur massacre helped create adequate national guidelines, but that a few inconsistencies remained.
It recommended that the Australian Institute of Criminology conduct a review of the way it gathers data on the sale and theft of weapons, and the creation of national guidelines for eligibility on joining gun clubs.
Coalition senators and Liberal Democrat David Leyonhjelm issued a dissenting report.
Nationals senator Bridget McKenzie said claims by the Greens that gun crime was largely perpetrated by offenders who had stolen lawfully-obtained weapons were unsubstantiated.
“What we have found is clear evidence provided by witnesses, including law enforcement agencies, that most guns used to commit a crime do not originate from licensed firearms owners but are in fact illegally imported,” McKenzie said.
The report found that only 5% of stolen weapons were used in crimes.
“Our efforts to get illicit firearms off our streets mustn’t come at the expense of licensed and responsible firearms owners, who provide significant social, economic and environmental benefits to our country,” McKenzie said.
