National

National gun register receives $160m in funding

By AAP Newswire

Apr 27, 2024

Guns seized in police raids. — More than $160 million has been set aside to fund a national firearms register. -PR Handout Image

More than $160 million has been set aside to fund a national firearms register that will increase information sharing about guns across states and territories.

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The funding, as part of the upcoming May federal budget, will be spread across four years and used to establish the register as well as support reforms to firearm management systems.

The prime minister and state and territory leaders agreed to implement a national register following a national cabinet meeting in December 2023 to bolster community and police safety.

The push for a national register was reinvigorated by the Wieambilla police shootings a year earlier when police constables Matthew Arnold and Rachel McCrow and neighbour Alan Dare were shot and killed at a rural property.

The register will help reduce the risks of gun violence by providing police with near real-time information on firearms and owners and linking data with other law enforcement and government authorities

"Once established, police will know where firearms are, who owns them, and what other risks to the community and police may exist," Attorney-General Mark Dreyfus said in a statement on Saturday.Â

"The Australian government is committed to protecting the Australian community and ensuring Australia's firearms laws remain amongst the most effective in the world."

By AAP Newswire

Australian Associated Press