2026-01-21
In a week dominated by controversial hate speech laws there’s been one piece of genuinely good news that deserves to be celebrated: the Greens working with gun safety advocates have secured a commitment from the Government to establish a National Firearms Safety Council. This is an historic win for evidence-based firearms policy that might otherwise have been lost in the headlines.
The commitment was communicated by Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke to the Leader of the Australian Greens Senator Larissa Waters. The Greens will work with the Government to ensure the composition of the board meets community expectations.
We thank the Australian Gun Safety Alliance, the Alannah and Madeline Foundation, Gun Control Australia and the Public Health Association of Australia for their continued advocacy and work calling for a National Firearms Safety Council.
Greens Senator and Justice Spokesperson David Shoebridge said:
“The passage of the new firearms laws this week includes several crucial gun safety measures that advocates have campaigned for over many years, and we have now also secured a commitment from the Government for a National Firearms Safety Council.
“The Council will provide evidence-based oversight to ensure firearm laws consistently prioritise public safety across Australia which is exactly what the Greens and advocates have been calling for.
“A Firearms Safety Council is an important future-proofing of our new gun laws against politically motivated deals struck by politicians to weaken laws and harm community safety.
“We also know that as technology advances and data is more deeply understood, that there will be future changes to gun laws we can and should make and having a body focused on public safety advising the government on this will be critical.
“This is in addition to the National Gun Buyback which we know from the 1996 National Firearms Agreement is an important way to reduce the number of high risk firearms in circulation.
“Likewise these new laws have strengthened background checks based on strong intelligence sharing and will meaningfully contribute to community safety.
“This achievement came from listening to gun control advocates, survivor groups, and our community who care deeply about community safety.
“The Bondi massacre exposed dangerous flaws in our national firearms laws that the Greens have been highlighting for many years including the proliferation of private arsenals in suburban homes. (See our website www.toomanyguns.org)
“We’re not America and in Australia there is no right to have a gun, owning a gun is a privilege not a right, and the community expects our laws to be based on careful regulation for public safety.
“Now we need state and territory governments to follow through with restrictions on firearms capable of mass shootings through a new National Firearms Agreement and take steps to do their part on gun buybacks.
“We have worked with gun control advocates including survivors of gun violence for many years and this is a much deserved win for them and the community.”