Federation fail: Separate laws keep deadly sniper rifles on our streets
High-powered .50 cal guns banned for being too dangerous by some states are legal over the border, as states and territories fail to harmonise gun laws or agree to a national gun registry.
High-powered weapons such as .50 calibre sniper rifles are legal in Australia despite some states banning them on the basis they are too dangerous and arguing there is no legitimate need for them.
The inconsistency between the states is revealed as the push to establish a national firearms register stalls due to a funding dispute between the smaller jurisdictions and Canberra, and the refusal by all states and territories to harmonise their gun laws.
Western Australia recently banned .50 calibre rifles after requests from state police concerned about the safety of officers.
But the lack of a uniform national position on the high-powered guns underscores the failure of almost 30 years of negotiations between the states and territories to agree on firearm laws and classifications.
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Federation fail: Patchwork of laws keep sniper rifles on our streets
High-powered .50 cal guns banned for being too dangerous by some states are legal over the border, as states and territories fail to harmonise gun laws or agree to a national gun registry.
The sniper or assault-style BMG rifles can shoot accurately for hundreds of metres and were originally designed to target tanks and aircraft in World War I.
The Australian’s Target on Guns investigation this week revealed an effective national firearms register still did not exist, nearly one year after two police officers and a good Samaritan were murdered by domestic terrorists at Wieambilla in southern Queensland last December.
A real-time national weapons database has been costed at about $200m, and would take four years to be operational from the time it was agreed.
The Wieambilla shootings highlighted the poor communication and confusion that exists between the states when it comes to classification, storage and licensing of firearms.
Both the federal Liberals and Nationals urged the Albanese government to settle the funding dispute and deliver the national firearm register urgently.
Nationals leader David Littleproud said a national register that shared gun ownership information between state police forces would protect officers.
“It’s a simple proposition that should not have to take this long to establish and protect our law enforcement officers,” Mr Littleproud said.
Shadow attorney-general Michaelia Cash said there had been no movement on the register for six months.
“The last we heard was from Attorney (-General Mark) Dreyfus back in June, when he sent it to the national cabinet. But once it landed in the Prime Minister’s court it seems like nothing has been done,” Senator Cash said.
“The tragedy at Wieambilla shows just how important it is for policing around the country, and I call on the Prime Minister and Attorney Dreyfus to come to an agreement in the interests of all Australians.
“We’re not privy to those funding conversations between the States and the Government and don’t know what the sticking points are.”
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese again declined to comment, as did Treasurer Jim Chalmers, while a spokesman for Mr Dreyfus said the federal government was still working with the states and territories on the national firearms register proposal.
“We remain committed to preserving the safety of the community and of police,” Mr Dreyfus’s spokesman said.
NSW Premier Chris Minns said he did not know what the holdup was, but said NSW’s registry was ready to be compliant with a national register.
“My understanding (is) that our databases are fully compliant for an eventual national register and we are ready to comply with whatever national agreement comes about,” he said.
“I think it’s important that we do make progress. We don’t want to see a situation where someone crosses borders and, as a result, skips their obligations or the police’s knowledge about who has access to those firearms.”
West Australian Police Minister Paul Papalia, who has said his state will pay for an upgrade to its weapons registry to be compatible with the national register, banned 56 types of high-powered guns including .50 calibre rifles from July.
Mr Papalia said he could not understand why the weapons were prohibited in WA but allowed in other states, but said it was a matter for those jurisdictions whether they followed his lead.
“That’s their problem, their challenge, but I think they should explain why they think it’s reasonable that firearms of that capacity are legal and enabled in their jurisdictions, but it’s not my problem,” he said.
More than 180 firearms were bought back from WA owners by the government and some were legally sold interstate. Mr Papalia said he was “unashamed” at the decision.
“It’s had no impact at all on vermin control, and in the event that it had any impact on people who wanted to pursue target shooting, well that was considered to be less of a priority than community safety, and particularly police safety,” he said.
“I’m unashamed in saying … police safety is a higher priority than someone’s desire to shoot a military-grade sniper rifle for the comfort or the enjoyment of doing that.”
The WA government bought a .50 calibre weapon to fire at its media announcement in March 2022 flagging the impending law, resulting in the Australian Defence Force being forced to restrict air space at the nearby RAAF Base Pearce due to the potential range of the weapon.
A requested Notice to Airmen warned of dangers to a height of 18,000 feet, and said: “These projectiles have a significant velocity and could cause very serious damage to an aircraft if inadvertently struck by one.”
But Shooters Union president Graham Park said the weapons had never been used in a crime, and were used by long-distance sporting shooters for targets that were between 1000m and 4000m away.
Mr Park said the firearms cost between $8000 and $20,000 each, and each shot costs between $10 and $50.
“They’re not going to hold up a bank. They weigh upwards of 20 kilos and on average are 1.8 to 2m long,” he said.
But Gun Control Australia president Tim Quinn said the weapons should be banned nationally, or re-categorised.
“Technology has come a long way since we developed the categorisation system, and it’s no longer fit to catch the reload actions and power we see in these guns,’’ Mr Quinn said.
“There’s very limited situations where you could put a high-powered, high-calibre and fast-reloading firearm above public sentiment and public safety.
“Australians vastly don’t want more guns, and particularly those which increase safety concerns.
“A lot of domestically built and imported firearms are being banned in some Australian states under appearance laws, which are regularly challenged. We need to overhaul the categorisation system so we’re not relying on appearance law.’’
Australian Federal Police Association president Alex Caruana also called for a nationwide ban on .50 calibre BMGs for civilian shooters, because of the damage they could do from such long distances.
“It should be quarantined for use in the military only,” he said.
“There is no reason I can see why a civilian shooter would need a .50 calibre, particularly a .50 BMG, to take down any game in Australia – apart from they can, or because they’re a collector.”
While permits are hard to get for such large-calibre firearms, some hunters do manage to obtain them on remote stations to shoot vermin such as buffalo. The Eagle Park shooting range in Victoria allows .50 calibre guns to be shot on a 500m range. South Australia allows them, on rare occasions, to be used for recreational hunting. NSW Police did not directly answer questions about the availability of guns of calibres such as .50 BMG but shooters said it was possible to get permits for them in NSW.
The Australian has been told some states issue permits to gun-licence holders to acquire a .50 calibre weapon to shoot vermin in the Northern Territory – despite the guns being banned there.
Queensland allows .50 calibre weapons in some circumstances and currently has 1762 registered .50 calibre guns.
Other .50 calibre weapons used in sport or target shooting also had limitation imposed on their muzzle velocity by the shooting ranges where they were used.
Calibres such as .50BMG weapons were deemed restricted, and could be possessed by armourers and dealers, collectors and theatrical suppliers if they had been rendered permanently inoperable.
South Australia Police said it had 503 registered .50 cal firearms, of which only one was deemed a “high-performance .50 calibre firearm”.
“High performance .50 calibre or greater firearms, such as the BMG, are only permitted in circumstances of exceptional justification for use in the likes of target shooting, hunting, primary production, or contract shooting,’’ a spokesman said.
ACT Police said: “The ACT does not register .50 BMG or its derivatives, nor have we ever. They are banned in the ACT.’’
Victoria Police declined to provide numbers of .50 cal gun registrations but said the number was low.
“Firearms with a calibre of .50 and greater are only available to licence holders for the purpose of target shooting in defined long-distance competitions,’’ a police spokesman said.
“Membership of a club that participates in those competitions is a prerequisite of ownership.’’
Tasmania outlaws .50 calibre guns except for those which have been rendered inoperable and are held by museums and collectors. Tasmania Police said there were 75 inoperable .50 calibre firearms registered in the state, with collectors, firearm dealers, and held within the police ballistics library.