New data reveals the high number of guns per person in Australia’s richest suburbs

THE tree-lined streets and up-market boutiques of some of Australia’s richest suburbs are hiding something surprising.

THEY are some of Australia’s most prestigious suburbs, with sweeping views of Sydney Harbour and where even getting on the bottom rung of the property ladder will set you back several million dollars.

But there’s another figure that these ritzy neighbourhoods are less keen on crowing about, a figure that runs contrary to the image they’ve taken so long to cultivate.

New data on registered firearms has revealed some of the country’s most well-heeled suburbs have an eye-watering number of guns and in some cases surprisingly more than other, less salubrious, parts of town.

Between them, Point Piper and Darling Point overlooking Sydney Harbour, are Australia’s most expensive suburbs and include Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull as a homeowner. But they also have 324 registered firearms to people in the suburb or 0.044 per resident.

In contrast, Birrong in Sydney’s west, which has some of Sydney’s cheapest housing within 20km of the CBD, has just 159 guns or less than half the number per resident in Point Piper.

Point Piper also has more guns than the notorious trouble spot of Kings Cross, which has 252 guns or only 0.013 per resident.

Point Piper includes the most expensive street in the country and more guns per resident than many less well-to-do suburbs.

MOSMAN’S ‘PRIVATE ARSENAL’

Pymble and St Ives, some of the most select suburbs on Sydney’s north shore, have even more guns at 840 and 634 a piece.

But if you’re looking for a posher version of LA’s Compton, look no further than Mosman. Hidden away behind the exclusive boutiques and expensive eateries are a massive 1127 guns.

In contrast, Lakemba in the city’s south west, has only 392 guns or 0.015 per resident compared to Mosman’s 0.044 per person.

Mosman also falls in the top-100 largest private arsenals in NSW, with one person alone owning a staggering 278 guns.

Suburbs close to Mosman, including Neutral Bay and Cremorne, have far less guns. While suburbs close to Lakemba, such as Punchbowl, have a higher proportion of registered firearms.

The figures come from a website set up by the NSW Greens party, toomanyguns.org, where residents can type in their postcode and discover how many firearms are lurking, hidden away, in their ‘burb.

The website also lists the number of registered owners and the largest number of guns held by one person.

Lakemba, in Sydney’s south west, has less registered firearms per person than many parts of Sydney including Mosman, St Ives and Neutral Bay.

FIREARM LAWS ‘BROKEN’

The data, that only covers NSW, has come to light following a freedom of information request lodged by the Greens with the NSW Police.

NSW Greens justice spokesman David Shoebridge said the figures should give politicians pause to think.

“Something is broken in our firearm laws when people are allowed to build up their own private arsenals,” he said.

“It is seriously frightening to think that here are one hundred people across the state, who aren’t collectors or firearms dealers, and who own more than 70 guns each.”

Mr Shoebridge conceded farmers and target shooters had reason to possess guns. “But how on earth are the NSW Police ticking off on allowing people to have dozens or even hundreds of guns?”

The suburbs with the largest number of guns are, not surprisingly, in country areas.

But even within Sydney there are areas with far more guns than the most expensive enclaves. Condell Park, where a man was killed on Saturday, has 3166 guns — 0.077 per person. Campbelltown has 5361 guns, or 0.074 per person.

Mount Druitt, in the city’s west has 2299 firearms but the large size of the suburb means there are less firearms per person than in Mosman, St Ives, Pymble or Point Piper.

Bondi Beach, Newtown, Surry Hills and Parramatta all have a relatively low 0.01 guns person.

What the data doesn’t take into account, however, is illegal gun ownership which accounts for 90 per cent of crimes involving a firearm.

So while there may be lots of guns stashed away in big houses they’re more likely to be used to shoot ducks than take part in drive-bys.

Greens MP David Shoebridge says up the website and says firearms laws need to be tightened.

NO PLANS TO CHANGE LAW
While gun ownership in Australia is rising, murders caused by firearms have been steadily falling for decades.

The findings come as the 20th anniversary of the Port Arthur massacre, in which 35 people died at the hands of gunman Martin Bryant.

Last week former prime minister John Howard, who introduced strict gun control laws following the massacre, said they now needed to be strengthened.

Federal Justice Minister Michael Keenan said the government has no plans to change the national gun control laws.

NSW Shooters and Fishers Party MP Robert Brown last week said he opposed tighter gun laws, saying law-abiding people owning registered guns was not a problem.

News.com.au has contacted the mayors of Mosman and Ku-ring-gai, where St Ives and Pymble are located, for comment.