Bills Digest No. 48 1997-98
National Firearms Program Implementation Bill 1997
WARNING:
This Digest was prepared for debate. It reflects the legislation as introduced
and does not canvass subsequent amendments. This Digest does not have any
official legal status. Other sources should be consulted to determine the
subsequent official status of the Bill.
CONTENTS
National Firearms Program Implementation Bill 1997
Date Introduced: 24 September 1997
House: House of Representatives
Portfolio: Attorney-General
Commencement: Royal Assent
The purpose of the Bill is to extend, to a limited extent, funding for
the program of compensation for the nationwide firearms buyback to those
automatic weapons not strictly falling within the categories of weapons
which were identified in the nationwide agreement entered into by the
Australasian Police Ministers Council in 1996.The weapons now covered
include sub-machine guns, heavy machine guns and similar weapons.
The National Firearms Program Implementation Act 1996 passed
both Houses of Parliament on 20 August 1996 and 21 August 1996, respectively,
and received the Royal Assent on 4 September 1996.That Act was an appropriation
from the Consolidated Revenue Fund and it also empowered the Attorney-General
to authorise payments by way of financial assistance to the States and
the Territories for the purpose of providing compensation to firearms
owners and dealers.The funding of this compensation to gun owners and
dealers was offset by an increase in the separate Medicare levy estimated
to raise around $500 million.The Act also permitted the payment of financial
assistance to the States and the Territories for purposes directly connected
to the compensation scheme and for a nationwide licensing and registration
scheme.
The main impetus for this nationwide guns buyback scheme was national
shock and concern over the tragedy at Port Arthur in Tasmania, where on
28 April 1996, 35 people were killed and others wounded or traumatised
in a shooting spree perpetrated by a lone gunman.The gunman used an automatic
rifle.The Commonwealth Government's response was to implement a national
buyback of military style self-loading rifles, pump-action shotguns and
similar weapons.The gun buyback scheme expires on 30 September 1997.
The gun buyback scheme has brought to light that there are other prohibited
non-conventional weapons in the community, such as sub-machine guns and
heavy machine guns.These types of weapons were not expressly covered by
the initial Police Ministers' Agreement but it is obvious that they should
be surrended by the community.
This Bill empowers the Attorney-General to reimburse the States and
the Territories where they have paid compensation for these surrended
weapons consistent with the spirit of the national gun buyback scheme.
This issue is not without its problems.It is reported that the Northern
Territory Police have already paid $440,000 to a Melbourne businessman
under the gun buyback scheme for 22 World War II Hispano aircraft canons
imported into Australia.The article notes that it is not understood how
the weapons arrived in the Northern Territory.(1)
As of noon, 3 September 1997, 517,766 firearms had been handed in under
the gun buyback scheme.(2) It is estimated that the number of guns surrended
could exceed 575,000 by the time of the cut-off point for the surrender
of firearms on 30 September 1997.(3)
Clause 3 contains the key provision in the Bill.This key provision
is the definition of qualifying compensation.Under the National
Firearms Program Implementation Act 1996, qualifying compensation
was defined in section 3 in a way which applied to 'self-loading rifles,
self-loading shotguns or pump-action shotguns'.This Bill has a new definition
of qualifying compensation which includes the broader category
of:
firearms or other weapons certified by the Attorney-General (whether
before or after the compensation is paid) to be firearms or other weapons
whose surrender is consistent with the spirit of the national firearms
program.
Clause 4 empowers the Attorney-General to authorise payments to the
States (which, by a standard definition in the Bill, includes the Territories)
for the reimbursement of qualifying compensation paid by
the States.Advances may also be made by the Attorney-General and any over-payment
is refundable to the Commonwealth.
Clause 6 appropriates money from the Consolidated Revenue Fund for the
purposes of the legislation.
Obviously, the Northern Territory Police had to resolve the issue when
presented with the 22 aircraft canons.It may be interesting to hear any
further details (e.g. setting the price) of the circumstances surrounding
the reported buyback of the 22 aircraft canons at a cost of $440,000 by
the Northern Territory Police.
- Greg Thomson, 'Buyback bungle: legal action option', Northern Territory
News, Thursday, September 11, 1997.
- House of Representatives, Hansard, Questions Without Notice,
National Firearms Buyback, 3 September 1997: 7381 (Proof).
- David Elias, '553,854: the arsenal', The Age, 20 September
1997.
Brendan Bailey
26 September 1997
Bills Digest Service
Information and Research Services
This Digest does not have any official legal status. Other sources should
be consulted to determine whether the Bill has been enacted and, if so,
whether the subsequent Act reflects further amendments.
IRS staff are available to discuss the paper's contents with Senators
and Members and their staff but not with members of the public.
ISSN 1328-8091
© Commonwealth of Australia 1997
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Published by the Department of the Parliamentary Library, 1997.
This page was prepared by the Parliamentary Library, Commonwealth of
Australia
Last updated: 26 September 1997
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