Four million. The myths of Australia’s gun control
After Port Arthur, Australia was hailed as the world’s gold standard in arms control. So is this really true?
Accordingly research with Australian InstituteThere are more than four million guns legally owned by civilians in Australia (2024), 25% more than before the Port Arthur massacre. The truth is that the gun control laws Howard so heralded only got about 500,000; less than 20% of the then (estimated) total.
Owning a gun is not a right in Australia. According to the law, this is “a privilege based on the overriding need to ensure public safety.” National Firearms Agreement All states and territories and the federal government agreed to this agreement in 1996. They reaffirmed the agreement in 2017.
Despite this, most of what has been agreed upon has not yet been implemented and no steps have been taken yet. National Firearms Registry. Interestingly, only 2,000 guns are reported stolen each year; This is 0.05% of the weapons known to be in private hands.
It’s true that it takes a man (mostly) to pull the trigger, but four million legal guns is still a lot of triggers.
Has anyone wondered how many guns there are in your suburb? We have developed a tool that displays registered firearms by postcode across NSW.https://t.co/IbimDJzZSG
Access to data can help us understand how our gun laws actually work (or don’t!).
— David Shoebridge (@DavidShoebridge) December 17, 2025
Kim Wingerei is a businessman turned author and commentator. He is passionate about freedom of expression, human rights, democracy and the politics of change. Originally from Norway, Kim has lived in Australia for 30 years. Author of ‘Why Democracy is Broken – A Blueprint for Change’.
