The recent 25th anniversary of the tragic events at Port Arthur reminded Australians of the terrible loss of life and the impact on families, survivors and first responders to the shooting.
It also pointed to the significant gun reforms that were agreed to by every state and territory less than two weeks after the tragedy.
The National Firearms Agreement (NFA) is a national approach to the regulation of firearms. The Agreement is very clear. Firearm possession and use is a privilege that is conditional on the overriding need to ensure public safety.
The Australian Gun Safety Alliance is currently working with every jurisdiction to ensure that governments uphold their responsibilities that they have already agreed to under the NFA.
The success of Australia’s gun laws is recognised around the world and nearly 90 per cent of Australians think that our laws are just right or could actually be tightened.
The ability of governments to come together in the shadow of Port Arthur and agree on such significant reform was testament to the hard work, dedication and advocacy of many people in the lead up to 1996.
Police Ministers had stalled gun law reform for more than 10 years. Despite this, gun control advocates worked relentlessly.
Over the next few weeks, we will be publishing some interviews with those people that were responsible for making our gun reforms possible.
