The federal parliament’s lower house has passed a national gun buyback scheme in response to the Bondi Beach massacre, but the legislation faces an uncertain path in Tasmania.
The bill passed the House of Representatives 96–45 on Tuesday and will now head to the Senate, where it is expected to pass with the support of the Greens.
Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke said that, had the laws been in place before the December 14 attack, which killed 15 people, the gunmen would not have legally had access to firearms.
The father–son duo behind the attack legally owned six firearms.
However, responsibility for collecting the weapons and paying compensation will fall to the states and territories and Tasmania’s position remains unclear.
More on this story: Nearly 70% of Tasmanians support gun buy-back, EMRS poll finds
Police Minister Felix Ellis has warned the scheme could cost the state $20 million under a proposed 50–50 funding split with the Commonwealth.
“That is more than the cost of building a new primary school,” Ellis said previously.
By contrast, the 1996 buyback following Port Arthur was fully funded by Canberra.
Minister Gavin Pearce, on social media, said the reforms “cannot be rushed through”.
“I can tell you now that 99% of Canberra doesn’t get it,” he wrote.
Pearce said the focus should be on “getting firearms out of the hands of criminals and those that wish to do harm”.
“Not law-abiding, common-sense Australians,” he said.
Fellow minister Kerry Vincent on Tuesday morning said cabinet would discuss the matter today.
“We’re certainly not against gun reform,” he said.
“We’re trying to understand all parts of how this will affect the community and make sensible decisions over the coming weeks to make sure our gun laws are as strong as they possibly can be.”
Labor leader Josh Willie seized on the mixed messaging.
“We’ve got the police minister saying that they’re not going to rush this. We’ve got other Ministers publishing on their Facebook conflicting messages,” he said.
“I think we could have a commitment from them today.”
Tasmania is not alone in pushing back, with the Northern Territory and Queensland also signalling they are unwilling to share buyback costs.
The Senate is expected to vote on the legislation this week.
