Kimberley gun owners hand in more than 300 firearms in WA buyback scheme

Kimberley gun owners handed in more than 323 firearms through the WA Government’s buyback scheme - although many would have done so reluctantly according to one East Kimberley sports shooter. New figures released by the WA Government show that over the six months of the buyback scheme, 38,442 weapons were handed back by more than 20,500 licence holders. The vast majority of guns - more than 20,000 - were handed in from the greater Perth region. Meanwhile the sparsely populated Kimberley, home to many pastoralist who are legally allowed to own 10 guns, returned 323. Ord Pistol Club President Paul Hutton said he knew many gun owners who had handed in their weapons, some were antiques that had not been fired for decades. “People are very reluctant to do it. It’s stepping on their privacy. They are the ones that have done the right thing and they feel this is not fair. Some people have had their firearms for over 40 years and now they are getting rid of them to make life easier on themselves,” he said. Mr Hutton said for many it was easier to hand their firearms into the police station than to try to sell them as firearms were becoming more difficult to transport by courier. The buyback scheme is part of new gun laws which aims to reduce the amount of firearms in WA. Under the new laws primary producers and competition shooters can own up to 10 guns while recreational hunters are restricted to five. Over the six month voluntary scheme 3,195 handguns, 9,908 shotguns and 25,339 rifles were surrendered. A further 449 guns were sold interstate. More than half of those weapons have so far been destroyed, the rest will be demolished in the coming weeks. Premier Roger Cook said they were the the toughest gun laws in the nation and they delivered on his government’s commitment to enhance public safety by removing unnecessary weapons from the community. “By their very design, guns were created to end life. Therefore, it is essential we limit access to them in the community and have strict processes in place to monitor and regulate their use,” Mr Cook said, Mining and Pastoral region MLC Neil Thomson said the vast majority of firearms held in the Kimberley were done so for important pastoral and hunting reasons. “Sadly while being characterised as untrustworthy and a risk to society local firearm owners are going to be bogged down in red tape with unworkable laws that will not provide any significant protection to the community,” he said. “Most worryingly are the unworkable property consent provisions as they impact on people’s access to Crown land and traditional hunting areas. “ The new laws will be enforced through a phased approach from March next year.