Rise of the shooters

THE Port Arthur massacre is a fading memory for a new generation of shooters.

ANYONE who lived through the events of 1996 - the Port Arthur massacre and the fiery anti-gun control rallies that followed - would recall John Howard's hard-fought battle to tighten the nation's firearm laws.

But that was 16 years ago; memories fade and a new generation of shooters don't even know who Martin Bryant is.

The collective memory of the gun lobby, however, has not diminished. It's a cashed-up group that has grown a power base in the NSW and Queensland parliaments and has high hopes for the next federal election.

At the same time, the number of guns and gun owners is increasing. As Richard Guilliatt reports, the 730,000 firearms imported into Australia since the gun buyback have more than replaced all that John Howard destroyed.