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Mr Speaker,
Australians have always had reasonable access to firearms, and law abiding citizens have always had an understandable expectation that individual ownership would continue as indeed would the facility for them to pursue their sporting pastime.
This reasonable expectation has lost ground daily and Australian firearm owners quite rightfully believe the day is coming when the civilian population will be disarmed and only those who break the law will possess firearms.
The uniform gun laws were ill conceived and rushed through without thought or consultation. Any proposed need has no basis in fact and is an affront to anyone who is even slightly informed of the facts and figures.
Dr Adam Graycar, from the Australian Institute of Criminology, has stated that banning semi-automatic firearms will do nothing to prevent the majority of Australia's gun deaths.
While I would certainly not advocate illegitimate ownership of such firearms, we cannot escape the fact that even just in the case of centre fire semi-automatic rifles, the majority of which are military style, there are in excess of a million such firearms in Australia and yet this style accounts for less than 2% of Australian firearm deaths.
Despite the free access to millions of firearms in Australia, the available data shows the number of murders committed with firearms since 1979 has been in a steady downward trend despite the rise in murders generally over the same period.
It should also be acknowledged that this period of general decline covered the peak years of importation for the so called military style semi-automatic firearms.
In fact, this period shows an average of 92 murders or 20-30% of the total murders committed each year are carried out with firearms -many more people are murdered by other means.
Since 1990, there has been a rapid increase in murders committed with sharp instruments, and these alone far out number murders with firearms for the same period, once again, despite the vast availability of firearms.
Even when looking at suicides, where there is an alarming increase in incidence, you will find a steady downward trend in the use of firearms.
Available information shows that since 1979, suicides have increased nearly 45%, but use of a firearm to commit suicide has gone down by over 25%.
Since 1979, suicide with a firearm has dropped from nearly 30% of all suicides to about 17%.
Removing completely inoperable guns from our war museums, and paying compensation in excessive amounts is probably one of the more foolish examples of this government's agenda.
The act of removing rusty non-working machine guns from museums is contributing to erasing our history and will not save a single life.
A person in Darwin was paid nearly half a million dollars for 20 millimetre cannons from fighter planes.
Considering the current removal of firearms from private ownership was largely targeted at centre fire semi-automatics, and less than 2%, or 10 firearms related deaths a year are attributable to this style of firearm, is the 500 million dollar buy back coupled with the unaccountable costs, justifiable in the context of the variety of weapons used to commit murder and the many causes of accidental deaths?
Perhaps as many as 50,000 Australians die each year through the effects of diseases caused by alcohol and tobacco - What impact would the 500 million dollars have had in reducing these horrendous figures?
Each year, countless thousands die in road accidents and in all manner of other activities, yet are we to believe these and the deaths from alcohol and tobacco are somehow more acceptable because so many people drink and smoke and drive?
There are millions of firearms and millions of firearm owners but despite the vast numbers and the amount of use, in context the number of deaths is relatively low and the government's approach cannot be justified.
Bear in mind removing fireams from law abiding citizens will most likely only impact accidents, and in this case, there are only about 15 fatalities each year.
A 1000 people die each year from accidental falls and 250 drown.
There was no Gun Debate as such, there was no consultation or concern for the facts, merely misinformation shoved down the throats of an understandably emotional public.
This has been a political exercise pure and simple with no reduction in the amount of firearms in society.
In fact quite the contrary has occurred as the figures show that for every firearm turned in, approximately 1.7 modern firearms have been purchased with the compensation.
There is also of course the issue of the number of firearms that have literally gone underground.
The returns do not begin to account for the estimated number of firearms. In particular, hundreds of thousands of military style semi-automatics would seem to be missing. It is time that we acknowledged that crime is caused by economic desperation and helplessness, unemployment, loss of hope, family breakdown, substance abuse, and cultural conflicts, not by firearm ownership.
The Swiss experience is perhaps the best example, as in that country there are more firearms and fewer deaths than in Australia and the majority of firearms in Switzerland are military weapons - millions of them.
It is only when we as One Nation together address these issues, that crime will reduce.
Violence and crime is not proportional to the availability of firearms, it is directly linked to the security and decency of our society and governments that pretend otherwise are looking to hide the true causes of the situation and escape the responsibility for addressing the real issues and therefore perpetrating a lie on their people.
Saving lives or reducing crime was obviously not behind the government's attacks on private ownership of firearms. Indeed they are themselves guilty of the crime of using an emotive period for political purposes
Have no doubt, the buy back has failed. There are now more firearms out there than before and many are modern and potentially more deadly than the firearms they replaced.
It seems most Australians have not handed in their firearms, and be assured, absolutely no criminals have complied.
What does the government intend to do with the millions of Australians who have not complied?
Will Australia become a police state, with homes systematically raided and property confiscated ?
Will the government harass, fine and jail otherwise innocent law abiding Australians.
History has shown only the worst kind of government disarms its people.
Mr Speaker,
I stand by my belief that,
Australians have the right to defend themselves and their families in their own homes.
Shooting is a legitimate sport and pastime and participants should be treated accordingly.
Disarming law abiding Australians is not in the national interest and will do nothing to reduce crime.
An honest government would take heed, so we can be sure this one is not listening, but simply put, it should be remembered that during the last election campaign, the current government used the slogan, "Enough is Enough".
Be assured, the firearm owners of Australia are tired of unwarranted and unjustified interference, they are tired of being used as political scapegoats and the victims of United Nations treaties.
You can be assured, Australia's firearm owners have adopted the Liberal/National Coalition slogan, because that's exactly how they feel, "Enough is Enough".
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