A loophole in Australia’s gun laws that may have contributed to the Wieambilla massacre is one step closer to being fixed as the nation’s police ministers start work on setting up a national firearms register.
Attorney-General Mark Dreyfus will meet with state and territory police ministers in Sydney on Monday after being tasked by national cabinet with developing a single register for gun owners across the country in the wake of the fatal mass-shooting in rural Queensland in December.
As an inquiry prepares to examine what police have described as Australia’s first fundamentalist Christian terrorist attack, questions have been raised about whether the officers who were shot at were aware that their assailants may have possessed guns registered in another state.
Police constables Rachel McCrow, 29 and Matthew Arnold, 26, and neighbour Alan Dare were killed when Nathaniel, Stacey and Gareth Train opened fire on their remote property near Wieambilla in Queensland’s Western Downs region.
It is understood Nathaniel Train had acquired a gun licence in NSW before moving in with his brother and sister-in-law in Queensland but it isn’t known if police were aware of that when they arrived at their property.
Ms McCrow and Mr Arnold were with two other junior officers who approached the property to carry out what police have described as a routine welfare check when they were met with a hail of bullets.
Mr Dare was killed when he arrived at the property to help, before the three Trains — who are believed to have been religiously-motivated conspiracy theorists — were shot dead following a lengthy standoff with police.
In the wake of the attack, the Albanese government and the Queensland and NSW premiers backed renewed calls from the Queensland Police Union to set up a national firearms register to more easily track guns and gun owners cross state boundaries.
The nation’s police ministers and Mr Dreyfus will agree on the purpose and capabilities of such a register at their meeting on Monday, before they iron out the details with law enforcement agencies and through public consultation over the coming months.
The single shared record of firearms and firearms owners would allow for the ability to trace guns from creation to destruction in Australia, ensure interstate access to information required to determine gun licence suitability and notify authorities in the event of theft.
Crucially, the register — which was first proposed more than 30 years ago — would enable information to be shared across jurisdictions.
But it wouldn’t replace the existing arrangements by which firearms licences and permits are issued, which would remain a state responsibility.
The register would differ from the existing Australian Firearms Information Network (AFIN), which is primarily designed to trace individual firearms, as it would provide information on both guns and gun-licence holders.
A spokesman for the Queensland Police Service said it would welcome the Commonwealth creating a national firearms register, noting the AFIN didn’t provide extensive information on firearms licensees or monitor firearms in real-time.
“The QPS supports enhancing national databases and information-sharing arrangements across jurisdictions,” Queensland Police said.
Mr Dreyfus said Australia already had some of the strongest firearms controls in the world but the register would ensure police across the country had timely and accurate information to assess firearms risk and protect the community from harm.
“The uniform national gun laws adopted in the wake of the 1996 Port Arthur massacre have made Australia a much safer place but there is always room for improvement,” Mr Dreyfus said.
“The states and territories have long agreed on the need for a co-ordinated approach to accessing information on firearms.”
Queensland Police Minister Mark Ryan said on Sunday anything that would strengthen firearms regulation was an “unequivocally positive” move.
“Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk put this issue on the national agenda and it is important that a national conversation about this community safety measure takes place,” Mr Ryan said.