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CONTENTS
Passage History
Purpose
Background
Main Provisions
Endnotes
Contact Officer and Copyright Details
National Firearms Program Implementation Bill
1998
Date Introduced: 27 May 1998
House: House of Representatives
Portfolio: Attorney-General
Commencement: On Royal Assent
To provide
compensation for certain firearms surrendered in the Territories of
Norfolk Island, Cocos (Keeling) Islands and Christmas Island.
In April 1996, 35 people were killed and others
wounded in Port Arthur, Tasmania by a lone gunman, Martin Bryant.
In May 1996, a meeting of Commonwealth, State and Territory Police
Ministers was convened. At that meeting agreement was reached on a
national scheme for firearms ownership, use and storage in
Australia. Among other things, the Police Ministers agreed that
there should be restrictions on the importation, ownership, sale,
resale, transfer, possession, manufacture and use of self-loading
centrefire rifles, self-loading and pump-action shotguns and
self-loading rim-fire rifles.(1) Agreement was also reached on a
licensing and registration scheme for firearms in accordance with
national standards.
Further elements of the agreement were an
amnesty period(2) and buyback scheme to encourage firearms owners
and dealers to surrender prohibited weapons. It was also agreed
that the Commonwealth would meet the costs of compensation and fund
the States and mainland Territories for establishing and
administering the buyback scheme and implementing licensing and
registration systems.(3)
In the period following the May 1996 Police
Ministers Meeting, the Commonwealth, the States and the Territories
introduced legislation responding to the firearms agreement.
Commonwealth statutes included the Medicare Levy Amendment Act
1996 and the National Firearms Program Implementation Act
1996. The former statute increased the rate of the Medicare
levy for the 1996-97 financial year in order to fund the firearms
buy-back scheme. It was estimated that the levy would raise about
$500 million.
The National Firearms Program Implementation
Act 1996 appropriated money from Consolidated Revenue and
empowered the Attorney-General to authorise payments to the
States(4) for the purpose of providing compensation to firearms
owners and dealers under schemes established to implement the
national firearms program. The Act also enabled the
Attorney-General to authorise other payments to the States for
purposes connected to the national firearms program.
The National Firearms Program Implementation
Act 1997 (Cth) extended compensation to certain automatic
weapons not covered by the May 1996 Police Ministers Agreement.
These weapons included sub-machine guns and heavy machine guns. The
buyback scheme had revealed the existence of such weapons in the
community. The 1997 Act empowered the Attorney-General to reimburse
the States and Territories where they had paid compensation for
such surrendered weapons consistent with the spirit of the national
gun buyback scheme.
As at 20 May 1998, a total of 643,674 firearms
had been surrendered in mainland Australia and $319,398,716 paid in
compensation.
The National Firearms Program Implementation
Bill 1998 relates to Norfolk Island, Cocos (Keeling) Islands and
Christmas Island. These islands are among Australia's external
territories. Cocos (Keeling) Islands and Christmas Island are
located in the Indian Ocean. Norfolk Island is 1,676 kilometres
north-east of Sydney.
Clause 3 is the definitions
provision. It defines 'Territory' to mean Norfolk Island, Christmas
Island or Cocos (Keeling) Island.
Clause 3 also defines
'qualifying compensation.' 'Qualifying compensation' is
compensation which is paid under a compensation scheme approved by
the Attorney-General where compensation is paid for the surrender
of property during an amnesty period or for loss of business during
the amnesty period. The compensation must relate to self-loading
rifles, self-loading shotguns or pump-action shotguns or to
firearms whose surrender is consistent with the spirit of the
national firearms program.
Clause 4 provides that the
Attorney-General may notify an amnesty period for a Territory in
the Gazette.
Subclauses 5(1) & 5(2)
provide that the Attorney-General can authorise payments of
qualifying compensation, reimbursements or advances to a Territory.
Subclause 5(3) provides for the repayment by a
Territory of any excess amounts of qualifying compensation.
Over-payments are recoverable as debts due to the Commonwealth
[subclause 5(4)].
Subclause 6(1) provides that
the Attorney-General can authorise other payments to a Territory
connected with the implementation of the national firearms program.
Subclause 6(2) provides that total payments to the
Territories cannot exceed the amount stipulated in subsection 5(2)
of the National Firearms Program Implementation Act
1996.
- See The Australian Firearms Buyback, Media Kit, Fact
Sheet, 'Setting National Standards on Firearms Ownership.'
- This amnesty period expired on 30 September 1997.
- Australian Firearms Buyback, op.cit.
- The legislation defines 'States' to include the Northern
Territory and the Australian Capital Territory.
Jennifer Norberry
2 June 1998
Bills Digest Service
Information and Research Services
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ISSN 1328-8091
© Commonwealth of Australia 1998
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Published by the Department of the Parliamentary Library,
1998.
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