NSW launches gun buyback after Bondi terror attack

Summarised from 2 outlets · Updated 26 Oct, 02:49 · Archive

New South Wales has launched a firearm buyback scheme, the only state to join a federal program after the Bondi terror attack.

New South Wales has launched a gun buyback scheme following the Bondi terror attack, in which 15 people were killed. NSW police stations in Sutherland, Penrith, Narellan, Grafton, Griffith and Dubbo will begin accepting surrendered guns from 2 November, with a further 34 stations accepting firearms from 1 December. It is the largest such scheme since the Howard-era buyback that followed the 1996 Port Arthur massacre and the only state to join the federal program.

Firearm owners will be restricted to keeping four guns, though primary producers and sporting shooters will be allowed a maximum of ten. About one in 33 people hold a gun licence in NSW, with more than one million individual firearms legally registered. Approximately 18 per cent of licence holders are eligible to participate, and up to 274,000 firearms could be returned. Police Minister Yasmin Catley said 'Fewer guns in the community means a safer community. It means fewer guns at risk to fall into the wrong hands.'

The buyback will compensate people for firearms they can no longer legally own. Grants of up to £25,000 will be available for eligible businesses and dealers, along with one-off licence fee relief of £500 per gun dealer. Gun shop owners and shooting groups have criticised the rollout for potentially putting them out of business.

How it is being reported

• Buyback bookings: owners spurred to surrender firearmsHundreds of thousands of firearms could be returned in the only state that has signed up to a national gun buyback after the worst terror attack in Australia.The West Australian · 26 Oct, 02:22
• Buyback bookings: owners spurred to surrender firearmsHundreds of thousands of firearms could be returned in the only state that has signed up to a national gun buyback after the worst terror attack in Australia.Perth Now · 26 Oct, 02:21

In this story: New South Wales · Bondi · Yasmin Catley · Port Arthur

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