Opposition rising towards new gun buyback scheme
Queensland laws
The Queensland Government is reportedly at loggerheads with the Federal Government about bringing in a new gun-buyback scheme in the wake of the Bondi terror attack.
National media outlets are reporting that Queensland is unwilling to sign up to the scheme, which is set to go before federal parliament this week, and will not even be discussing the issue in its regular Cabinet meeting today.
When Prime Minister Anthony Albanese was asked about Queensland’s position on Brisbane radio on Friday, he would only say he has had a “private discussion” about the buyback plan with Premier David Crisafulli, and “state governments will make their own decisions”.
Tasmania and the Northern Territory have already ruled out supporting the scheme, saying the proposed 50-50 federal and state cost breakdown would be too expensive.
The scheme will reportedly cost Queenslanders up to $160m to implement.
Meanwhile, a national petition opposing the gun buyback scheme has garnered more than 77,000 signatures on change.org.
“The recent proposal to introduce new firearms legislation in haste without proper consultation, evidence-based justification, and parliamentary scrutiny is concerning,” the petition states.
“Rushing through new laws without adequate consideration risks alienating responsible citizens and undermining the integrity of current processes.”
The National Party is also opposing the gun buyback proposal.
The Federal Government is aiming to pass separate bills this week to set up the framework for the gun buyback, along with reforms to hate-speech laws, during a special two-day parliamentary sitting from tomorrow.
Mr Albanese has called the plan the biggest buyback since the scheme John Howard implemented after the 1996 Port Arthur massacre, where more than 650,000 guns were handed in to authorities.
When he first introduced the gun buyback plan, he said it was “perfectly legitimate” for a range of people to have access to guns, but there was still a need to limit them further.
“I think Australians would also be surprised to hear the fact that there are more guns in Australia today than there were at the time of the Port Arthur massacre,” he said.