A new report shows the number of responsible firearms owners in Australia continues to increase towards a million licenses, while government statistics show there has been no increase in violent firearm-related crime as a result.
The Gun Control in Australia report, commissioned by Gun Control Australia and an organisation calling itself the Australian Gun Safety Alliance, states there are 943,274 licensed shooters in Australia, collectively owning 4,078,746 firearms — an average of just over four each.
Unsurprisingly, NSW had the most shooters with 252,531 licensees, followed very closely by Victoria, with 236,609 licensees, and Queensland with 224,833 licensees.
Western Australia was next, with 85,338 licences, Tasmania was in fourth place with 37,128 licences and the Northern Territory in fifth place with 17,495 licensed shooters.
Data for the ACT was not made available to the researchers, who instead calculated there were 30,617 licensed shooters in the nation’s capital, “estimated by applying national per capita figures”.
While the overall numbers are good news for shooters, the report is otherwise framed in a largely negative light, and has been roundly criticised by firearms industry and shooting representative groups.
SIFA CEO James Walsh said the report was an agenda-driven sham, clearly intended to support a narrative and shamelessly trying to make Australians fear law-abiding firearms owners.
The report highlighted perceived failures of firearms legislation in Australia, such as “allowing unlicensed people to use firearms under supervision at a shooting range”.
The report goes on to claim that “most Australians support stricter firearms regulations” and 70% of Australians “think gun laws should make it harder to buy a gun”.
“Almost two in three Australians (64%) think Australia’s gun laws should be strengthened,” the report claimed.
“Despite strong public support for stricter gun control, there remains a significant disparity between this sentiment and the inconsistent enforcement of effective gun laws across the country. The firearm industry seems out of step with the expectations of the community as they often do not recognise the principle that firearm use is a privilege rather than a right,” the report concludes.
None of the major shooting organisations in Australia believe firearms use is a right, and most people outside the shooting community have little idea what our gun laws actually are, with many mistakenly believing firearms are either banned almost completely (a la Japan) or can be bought over the counter by nearly anyone (as is the case in several US states).
“The report attempts to draw a link between an increase of legal firearm ownership in Australia and an increased danger to public safety,” Mr Walsh said, “but this has been researched extensively, and the data just does not agree with this assumption.
“In fact, it suggests otherwise. The NSW Bureau of Crime Statistics and Research (BOSCAR) statistics show violent offences involving firearms or knives are generally stable or decreasing and the number of murders, attempted murders, assaults and robberies involving guns or knives have been decreasing over the past 20 years,” he said.
“The Australian Institute of Criminology’s research also shows that the percentage of homicides involving a firearm is down to 11% for 2022-23; which is lower than the 17% of incidents for the years 1989/90-2021/22.
Mr Walsh said SIFA’s own research from 2019 directly refuted the report’s claims regarding Australian attitudes towards firearms ownership as well.
“Our research clearly showed 73% of Australians do not support tighter firearms controls, and 85% of Australians see no need for additional firearms regulations,” he said.
He also pointed to an August 2014 inquiry by the Commonwealth Attorney-General’s Department which explicitly stated, “The Department does not believe the tests set out in the National Firearms Agreement for the possession or use of firearms need to be amended” and that “putting additional restrictions on the legal ownership of firearms would not necessarily reduce firearm-related crime”.
Shooters Union Australia president Graham Park said while the report had the tone of a moral panic, it really showed that shooters were safe, responsible, law-abiding, peaceful people who were not a threat to the community.
“The increasing number of firearms owners is a good thing, and shows more and more Australians are enjoying safe, regulated and rewarding activity,” he said.
“The number of licensed firearms owners who commit crimes with their guns is absolutely tiny, which is why they get so much media attention,” he said.
“Everyone – including politicians – knows that 99% of all firearm-related crime is committed by criminals without a gun licence, using illegally obtained firearms that were likely smuggled in from overseas or simply never registered in the first place.
“Criminals do not obey gun laws or restrictions. They never have, and never will. Our firearms legislation and political discourse needs to reflect that, and it doesn’t – partly because of reports like this one.
“The fact these reports keep going on about there being more guns in Australia now than in 1996 shows the authorities genuinely expected shooters to give up or die out, and you can almost feel the frustration in some official commentary and these sorts of reports that it hasn’t happened.”
NSW independent MP Roy Butler, who represents the rural seat of Barwon and is a shooter, echoed these sentiments in an interview with The Land.
“The evidence is that most [legal] firearms are never used for bad purposes,” he told the paper.
“They’re used to control pests, to target shoot, and they’re in the hands of people that have been record checked and don’t cause problems.
“People have acknowledged and recognised that shooting is a great sport to be involved in, whatever discipline.
“Shooting is something that I think a lot of people like and enjoy, and for farmers, especially people on the land, they’re just a tool of the trade.”
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