A national firearms register to help police tackle gun violence is a step closer following a decision by the national cabinet.
Speaking after a meeting with premiers and chief ministers in Canberra on Friday, Anthony Albanese said the leaders had agreed to a “nationally co-ordinated approach to the management of firearms” following the fatal Queensland shootout which claimed the lives of two police officers and a good Samaritan.
“It’s quite clear that we need to do better in co-operation between jurisdictions when it comes to firearms,” the prime minister told reporters.
“That was part of the issue that’s been identified in Queensland.”
Mr Albanese said national cabinet received a high level briefing by ASIO director-general Mike Burgess about the rise of right-wing extremism in Australia and of so-called “sovereign citizens”.
The nation’s police ministers will report back to national cabinet mid this year, with options to implement a national register.
“It’s agreed that would be a necessary measure,” Mr Albanese said.
Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk led the discussion, with the backing of other state premiers, on increased information sharing between law enforcement agencies across jurisdictions.
Arriving at Parliament House ahead of the talks, she said she was a “really keen” supporter of a national firearms register.
“I’ll be raising it at national cabinet especially after the tragic deaths of (Constables) Matthew (Arnold) and Rachel (McCrow) that were felt right across Australia,” she said.
“The national firearms registry will absolutely help – it will give agencies that opportunity to be able to log in and see who owns firearms.”
WA Premier Mark McGowan said he backed the move as one that “has to happen”.
“We have to have fewer guns in our community and we have to have more easy tracing and tracking of guns across our community … it’s a no-brainer,” he told reporters in Canberra.
In December last year, Queensland police officers Constable Matthew Arnold and Constable Rachel McCrow were murdered on a Wieambilla property, more than 300km west of Brisbane, by a trio of conspiracy theorists.
Australian Federal Police Association president Alex Caruana said the organisation “strongly supports” the decision to plan a national firearms registry and had been campaigning for the database since 2019.
“If the national database comes to fruition, every police officer will have accurate firearms information in real-time, making their job immeasurably safer,” he said.
The Australian Health Promotion Association said the registry was long overdue.
“It is critical to have national centralised data on firearm owners, the number of firearms and where the firearms are, particularly with the rising number of firearms in Australia over the previous decade,” it said in a statement.
“Having a single source of truth when it comes to firearms is important for transparency and public safety, and will assist policing and health and community service planning.”
© AAP 2023
