Mitch Fifield (Victoria, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to the Minister for Justice and Customs, Senator Johnston. In light of yesterday’s tragic shooting in the Melbourne central business district, could the minister advise the Senate what the Australian government is doing to protect the community from handgun crime?

David Johnston (WA, Liberal Party, Minister for Justice and Customs) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I thank Senator Fifield for his question and acknowledge his longstanding concern about violent crime, particularly in his home state of Victoria. I reiterate the comments of the Minister for Finance and Administration and Leader of the Government in the Senate, Senator Minchin, in passing my condolences to the family and friends of the man killed in yesterday’s tragic shooting in Melbourne. A number of commentators have sought to use this incident to suggest that the government is somehow culpable in the control of firearms, particularly concealable weapons and handguns. I want to reject these comments from the outset.

Of any government throughout Australia’s history, the Howard government has one of the proudest records in being proactive in ensuring the safety of the Australian community with respect to firearms whilst balancing the needs of legitimate firearms licensees. One of the first things the Prime Minister did when he came into office was to instigate the most significant firearms reforms ever seen in this country. Where previously there had been minimal control of firearms across Australia, the Howard government gained agreement from all the state and territory governments under the national firearms agreement to limit firearms ownership to only those people with a proven genuine reason to possess such weapons, such as government users, professional pest controllers, security guards and sporting shooters. Personal protection is not—and I reiterate ‘is not’—recognised as a genuine reason to possess a firearm in Australia.

As a result of the 1996 reforms, a large number of firearms were prohibited, including automatic and semiautomatic military style long arms. Some 660,000 firearms were surrendered under the 1996 buyback scheme. In 2002, 70,000 handguns were recovered from the Australian community under the then buyback scheme. Additionally, in 2002, Australian state and territory governments established the National Firearms Trafficking Policy Agreement, which focused on reducing firearms across Australia. May I pause to say that Australia has some of the toughest firearms legislation across the world. For any law-abiding citizen to attempt to acquire a firearm lawfully, it is probably one of the most tortuous and difficult processes across the world.

In addition to legislative reform, the Australian government is strongly committed to preventing the trafficking of illegal firearms and firearms parts through increased law enforcement activity, including the activities of the Australian Crime Commission and the Australian Customs Service. In 2005-06, Customs seized 3,857 firearms, parts and accessories; and the Australian Crime Commission seized or quarantined 1,300 firearms and, as a result of activity of its firearms determination, laid 97 charges with respect to the illegal possession of firearms.

As a result of our tough stance on the possession of firearms, we have seen the incidence of firearms murders decrease from 99 victims and 31 per cent of all murders in 1996 to 26 victims and 9.6 per cent of all murders in 2005—a fantastic result of good policy from the Howard government. Robbery with firearms has decreased from 1,585 victims in 1996 to 758 victims in 2005, which is a drop from 9.7 per cent to 4.5 per cent. Firearms related deaths decreased from 521 in 1996 to only 238 in 2004—a fantastic result.