Sydney’s suburbs have a ‘frightening concentration’ of gun ownership, data shows | Gun control
Sydney’s suburbs are filled with firearms; The top 100 license holders in NSW own more than 13,000 guns in total, most of which are located in metropolitan areas.
Following Sunday’s terror attack that killed 15 people, including a 10-year-old girl, NSW premier Chris Minns has vowed to review the state’s firearms laws.
Police have confirmed that one of the alleged Bondi Beach terrorists killed by police during the attack was licensed and had six guns.
Many license holders in NSW have almost 300 individual guns attached to their licence, and six of the state’s top 10 gun owners live in suburban Sydney. They are not collectors or dealers.
Data from the NSW firearms register shows that about a third of the state’s nearly 1 million firearms are located in major cities.
Guardian Australia analysis of these figures shows that the local government areas of Penrith, Hawkesbury, Canterbury-Bankstown and Blacktown have the highest number of firearms in Sydney. These are also among the most populated areas in the state.
On Tuesday evening, the prime minister said in a statement that the national cabinet had decided that “strong, decisive and focused action is needed on gun law reform”, including renegotiating the National Firearms Treaty, which was first established after the 1996 Port Arthur mass shooting.
Changes being considered include limiting the number of firearms a person can own, ensuring firearms licenses can only be obtained by Australian citizens, and limiting open-ended firearm licensing, among other options.
The upcoming crackdown on licensed firearms owners is expected to face fierce resistance from the gun lobby in NSW; Minns has stated that he wants to make access to guns more difficult for those not involved in primary industries.
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Asked on Monday whether NSW’s gun registration laws should change, Minns said: “The short answer is yes.”
“This means introducing a bill to parliament that will make it harder to obtain these terrible weapons, which, quite frankly, have no practical use in our society,” he said.
“If you’re not a farmer, if you’re not involved in agriculture, why do you need these huge guns to endanger the public and make the life of the New South Wales police dangerous and difficult?”
Minns did not comment on what specifically would change but said he wanted to make sure any reforms “will make a big difference.”
“This is entirely my intention and my colleagues feel the same way,” he said. “You can expect action soon.”
The Bondi gunmen who killed 15 people at the Chanukah by the Sea event have been identified as father and son Sajid and Naveed Akram.
Naveed, 24, was taken to hospital under police guard. Sajid, 50, was shot dead by the police. Police said the man had a “category A/B” licence, which gave him the right to possess long arms similar to those used in the attack. “Basic” explosives were also found at the scene.
On Monday, it was announced that his son was brought to the attention of the Australian Security Intelligence Organization (Asio) in October 2019 “on the grounds that he was associated with others”.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said: “The assessment was that there was no ongoing threat or indication of violence against him.”
It is unclear whether this would have affected the father’s gun licence, or whether the NSW firearms registry was aware of the relationship.
The Greens’ NSW justice spokeswoman, Sue Higginson, said there was a “frightening concentration of weapons in Sydney’s outer suburbs that needs to be confronted”.
“It is inconceivable that a young man could get a gun license and register six firearms while his father was being investigated by Asio for links to terrorism. This is a system that is not working and needs to be fixed,” Higginson said.
The party at the state and federal level is currently pushing for a three-gun limit per license holder, a ban on high-powered hunting rifles, time-limited gun licences, and the removal of recreational hunting as a “real reason” for firearm licensure.
Following the shooting, Australian Federal Police Association president Alex Caruana criticized slow progress on a national firearms register promised after the Port Arthur massacre in 1996, which has yet to be delivered.
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How Australia changed its gun laws after the Port Arthur massacre
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Following the 1996 mass shooting in Port Arthur that killed 35 people, the Australian government national firearms agreement.
The agreement between the federal and state governments was intended to make gun laws generally uniform across states and territories. It introduced compulsory licensing, safe storage and handling rules, and restrictions on semi-automatic rifles and shotguns.
There was a buyback plan for guns now classified as illegal. Australians could voluntarily give up arms in exchange for financial compensation; this could lead to the surrender of more than 600,000 firearms.
A “real reason” to own a gun, such as hunting or sport shooting, was also needed, and personal protection was not a valid reason. The agreement clearly states that possession of a firearm is a privilege, not a right.
This distinguishes Australia from other countries, especially the United States, whose constitution includes the right to bear arms. The US Congress and state legislatures have passed some gun control measures, including mandatory background checks, but unlike Australia, most states have not banned assault weapons.
Owning a gun in the UK is also seen as a privilege, not a right, and new laws have similarly responded to mass shootings, including the 1987 Hungerford massacre. Some semi-automatic rifles are banned and police must consider the reasons for owning them before granting licences.
The effectiveness of Australia’s gun control measures remains a matter of debate, and some elements, including nationwide firearms registries, have yet to be fully legislated after almost 30 years.
He said that after the Wieambilla attack in 2022, the association reiterated the need for urgent changes, including the need to create a registration system and track ammunition sales.
“If our recommendations had been followed at the time, we would have had the opportunity to re-evaluate this person of interest who is now involved in a truly heinous and tragic crime, and possibly be in a position where police could have prevented this and the loss of life.”
He also questioned whether a robust national database would allow police to better assess the risk posed by Naveed and his father given their access to licensed weapons.
“If Asio had a national firearms database that they could also access in real time… they could make a dynamic assessment and change that person’s risk level. They would have the ability to do that,” he said.
As part of its investigation into the state of gun control in Australia in August, Guardian Australia found several cases where people were able to successfully overturn decisions to refuse licenses based on associations with outlaw motorcycle gangs, among other groups.
At a press conference on Monday morning, NSW police commissioner Mal Lanyon said the alleged 50-year-old perpetrator, now deceased, had held a gun license without incident since 2015.
Police found six guns at the scene of the attack and following raids on a property in Campsie and the couple’s home in Bonnyrigg.
Lanyon later confirmed that the elderly shooter had a recreational hunting license as a member of a gun club. Hunting and gun club membership is one The way to obtain a gun license in most parts of Australia.
After images similar to the membership card reportedly found in his wallet emerged, unconfirmed claims that Naveed was a member of a hunting club also emerged.
It is not yet confirmed whether he is a member of the club or not.
In a post on social media Sunday night, the club said it would be closed until Jan. 15. The Guardian’s calls and messages to the club went unanswered.
When the Guardian visited on Monday morning, the building at the club’s listed address was empty apart from a lone ute parked out front.
