New South Wales is pressing ahead with a gun buyback and a tightening of firearm rules, in a move the state Premier has framed as essential to keeping people safe. The Premier described the package as nation-leading and said it would give the state the toughest firearm laws in the country, as the government moves to overhaul how firearms are held.
At the centre of the changes are new limits on how many firearms a household can hold. Under the restrictions, households would be allowed up to four firearms. The Premier presented the buyback and the new limits together as a single response, aimed at reducing the number of guns held across the community.
The Premier linked the measures directly to the attack at Bondi Beach. The buyback, the Premier said, comes in the wake of what happened there, an event the Premier described as the worst terrorism event in the country's history, which took place in December of last year. That attack has become the backdrop against which the new firearm policy is being put forward.
On how the cost would be met, the Premier indicated that the funding looked set to be shared on a roughly 50-50 basis with the Commonwealth government. The state, the Premier said, is putting money aside so that it can pay for the buyback, signalling that the program is being budgeted for rather than left open-ended.
However, when asked directly how much the state's gun buyback would cost, the Premier declined to provide a figure. Pressed on the total price, the Premier said plainly that the question would not be answered, leaving the overall cost of the program unstated for now even as the policy moves forward.
The Premier repeatedly stressed that the changes were necessary for the state, returning to the argument that the buyback and restrictions are needed to keep people safe. With the firearm limits and buyback described as nation-leading, the policy sets New South Wales apart from other parts of the country as it responds to the Bondi Beach attack.