Federal government claims some states standing in the way of ‘getting those guns off our streets’

A national cabinet meeting in January. The New South Wales government is so far the only clear supporter of the gun law reforms. Photograph: Bianca de Marchi/AAP View image in fullscreen A national cabinet meeting in January. The New South Wales government is so far the only clear supporter of the gun law reforms. Photograph: Bianca de Marchi/AAP Federal government claims some states standing in the way of ‘getting those guns off our streets’ PM’s deadline to establish the biggest gun buyback in 30 years passes with half of the nation’s governments refusing to join Follow our Australia news live blog for latest updates Get our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcast Anthony Albanese’s end of March deadline to establish the biggest gun buyback in 30 years has now passed, with half of the nation’s governments refusing to join. There is no timeline for the buyback, announced in the weeks after the Bondi terror attack, and it remains unclear how costs will be split. “It’s for states and territories to justify to Australians if they intend to stand in the way of getting those guns off our streets,” a federal government spokesperson said on Tuesday. “All governments should be working to help to keep Australians safe. National cabinet agreed to strengthen gun laws across the nation. The reforms would be the largest since Port Arthur in 1996. “Gun laws are only as strong as the weakest state. Having laws that are national and consistent is vital to their effectiveness.” The New South Wales government is so far the only clear supporter of the reforms, with Western Australia having completed its own buyback scheme in January and Tasmania already in the process of setting up a scheme to buy back firearms. The Queensland, South Australian and Northern Territory governments have all ruled out their support with the SA government saying it had “not received any firearms proposal” from its federal counterparts and that no changes were under consideration. “South Australia already has some of the strongest firearms laws in the country, including rigorous fit-and-proper requirements, time-limited licences, and restrictions on ownership to only citizens and permanent residents,” a spokesperson said. And in Victoria, the Allan government has postponed a definitive commitment until after a snap review led by the state’s former top police officer Ken Lay is considered. Guardian Australia understands the Victorian government received the report in the past week and plans to release it and a government response in coming weeks. The government’s delay in convincing all jurisdictions to get on board with the scheme showed it had “badly backfired”, the shadow home affairs minister, Jonathon Duniam, said. Duniam added states and territories had walked away from the scheme because it represented “a desperate overreach … in relation to the rights of Australians”. “The gun buyback was an attempted distraction to paper over the Albanese government’s failures on antisemitism and extremism,” he said. “The Coalition opposed this scheme from the outset because it didn’t address the real issues facing the country in the wake of the Bondi attack.” Interest groups opposed to the buyback plan, such as the Shooting Industry Foundation of Australia, are also concerned about the lack of certainty moving forward. Three months on from its first announcement, the shooting lobby group’s chief executive, James Walsh, said there were “no winners”. “This buyback hasn’t delivered a victory for public safety, it has only delivered uncertainty for thousands of law-abiding Australians and the businesses that support them,” he said. “These are livelihoods being dismantled by botched legislation passed overnight. The government must recognise the human cost of their refusal to consult with us.” “It is not too late for the Albanese and state governments to fix this. Under the federal laws, state governments will be responsible for the collection and processing of surrendered guns. The Australian federal police is expected to lead destruction of surrendered weapons. The cost, which the federal government described as “significant”, will be split 50:50 with the states but no final cost of the plan has been released. The Howard government’s buyback, launched after the Port Arthur massacre in 1996, saw more than 650,000 firearms destroyed at a cost of $371m. Adjusted to today’s money, the price tag would be about $770m. Explore more on these topics Gun control Australian politics Bondi beach terror attack Anthony Albanese news Share Reuse this content