‘Up to a million’ guns in NSW ahead of national firearms amnesty

UP to a million unwanted and illegal guns could be held in NSW as police encourage owners to surrender weapons and gun parts as part of a national gun amnesty.

• Firearms amnesty for July 2017 amid concerns over gun violence

UP to a million unwanted and illegal guns could be held in NSW as police encourage owners to surrender weapons and gun parts as part of a national gun amnesty.

Deputy Commission for Metropolitan Field Operations Jeff Loy said NSW Police seized 13,500 firearms in the past 12 months, but 4800 of those were returned to the owners.

“We believe there’s anything up to about a million firearms in NSW,” he told reporters in Sydney.

“The amount of firearms is quite incredible, but in the main they’re held in safe keeping and dealt with by sensible people.”

Concern.... Up to a million unwanted and illegal guns could be held in NSW.

The three month amnesty, which begins on Saturday after details were announced by federal authorities earlier this month, allows residents to surrender any illegal weapons, parts or ammunition without punishment, but also without receiving compensation.

It comes after a difficult two years for the federal government over firearms laws, which led to division over the lever-action Adler shotgun.

Deputy Commissioner Jeff Loy.

The amnesty is the first since the Port Arthur Massacre in 1996.

Earlier this month, figures from the Police Firearms Registry showed the number of registered guns in NSW jumped from more than 850,000 in May 2015 to almost 916,000 in March this year.

Deputy Commissioner for Regional NSW Field Operations Gary Worboys said many rural people may have firearms passed down through the family or left on a property when it changed hands.

“It is an important time for people to focus on their own responsibilities in relation to firearm ownership and storage,” he said.

“This is a great opportunity now for those good people to bring their firearms in that they no longer require.” Mr Loy said people could also surrender firearm frames, parts or ammunition at nominated drop-off sites, which include police stations.

He urged them to call ahead rather than arrive at a station without notice. The last national amnesty was called in 1996 after the Port Arthur massacre in Tasmania and netted more than one million weapons, but unlike last time this amnesty won’t include a buyback scheme.

“This is about people having peace of mind and doing it for community safety,” Mr Loy said.

Owners also had the option to register the weapon at their own cost in order not to lose it, he said.

Information about individual state and territory requirements, including how and where to surrender firearms, can be found online at ­firearmsamnesty.ag.gov.au or by phoning 1800 909 826.