Brian Mitchell (Lyons, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to the Prime Minister. Yesterday, National Cabinet agreed on a new national firearms registry. What does this registry do, and why is it needed?

Anthony Albanese (Grayndler, Australian Labor Party, Prime Minister) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I thank the member for Lyons for his question. It's appropriate that it comes from the member for Lyons, who, of course, represents Port Arthur, the site of the horrific massacre back in 1996. The landmark agreement from yesterday represents the next big step forward in the gun reforms that were initiated following that massacre. For decades, federal, state and territory law enforcement agencies have repeatedly raised concerns about the difficulty of tracking firearms across state and territory borders. We know the dangers that those who work in law enforcement face while keeping us safe. We saw it in South Australia just last month, with the death of Brevet Sergeant Jason Doig. We saw it at Wieambilla on 12 December last year, with the murders of Constable Rachel McCrow, Constable Matthew Arnold and Alan Dare.

The national firearms register will make sure police officers have the vital information they need in potentially dangerous situations. It will be a central register developed and managed by the Australian Criminal Intelligence Commission to provide information and connect with the National Criminal Intelligence System to integrate firearms information with other risk factors, such as criminal history and court orders. It will include a national licence verification function for firearms dealers to check a person's status in near-real time. It will integrate firearms dealer information with state and territory registries. The system will be fully operational by 2028. It will save lives.

I acknowledge the great work done by the Attorney-General and all state and territory police ministers. I also want to acknowledge great Australians like Walter Mikac. Walter's daughters, Alannah and Madeline, and their mother were killed at Port Arthur. He wrote to Prime Minister John Howard and state and territory leaders urging them to act on gun reform—remarkable letters with such strength amid grief. He finished his letter with a simple call, 'Be strong and act now.' To the credit of former prime minister Howard, Tim Fischer and people across the political spectrum, action did take place; we did make the first steps. Yesterday, we as a nation took the next step, working together to keep Australians safe.