A buyback doesn't stop terrorists and criminals from getting guns
Thirty years after Port Arthur reshaped Australia's relationship with firearms, a new mass tragedy at Bondi has tested whether that national consensus can be summoned again — and found the federation wanting. Queensland's refusal to join a recommended gun buyback, following a royal commission into the December attack that killed seven people, leaves the federal government's most visible policy response without the broad state support it requires. The episode reveals how much the architecture of Australian federalism can absorb a shared grief without producing shared action, and how the memory of one precedent does not guarantee the conditions that made it possible.
- A royal commission convened specifically to prevent the next mass shooting has handed down its central recommendation — and the state that called for the inquiry is among the first to reject it.
- Queensland's police minister argues that disarming legal gun owners does nothing to stop the terrorists and criminals who carried out the very attack the commission was meant to address, fracturing the coordinated national response before it begins.
- Only New South Wales has clearly backed the buyback; the Northern Territory has ruled it out, South Australia is unmoved, and Victoria is hedging carefully ahead of a November state election.
- Prime Minister Albanese, who has secured legislation and financing but not yet disclosed costs or a timeline, now faces the prospect of a patchwork buyback that would undermine the universal scope that gave the Port Arthur response its historical weight.
- Federal Labor's frustration is sharpening as the January national cabinet agreement shows signs of unravelling, leaving the government to choose between proceeding with willing states alone or renegotiating a compromise that may satisfy no one.
Queensland's police minister Dan Purdie delivered a pointed rejection Thursday of the Bondi royal commission's call for a national gun buyback, saying the state would not participate because removing weapons from licensed owners does nothing to prevent terrorists and criminals from arming themselves. The commission had been convened after a December shooting at Bondi killed six people and a police officer, and Commissioner Virginia Bell's interim report urged the federal government and states to jointly fund and accelerate a buyback program. She also noted with concern that work on a national gun register — prompted by the 2022 Wieambilla killings — had proceeded at what she described as an "unduly leisurely" pace.
The rejection is particularly pointed given that Queensland Premier David Crisafulli had himself called for the royal commission as a safeguard against repeating past mistakes. His government's refusal to back its headline recommendation suggests that commissioning an inquiry and accepting its conclusions are separate political acts. New South Wales is now the only state clearly in support of the plan. The Northern Territory has ruled out participation, South Australia has indicated it is not considering changes, and Victoria — facing a state election in November — is reviewing a separate assessment while carefully avoiding any explicit endorsement of the buyback.
Prime Minister Albanese, who framed the plan as the most significant gun buyback since John Howard's response to Port Arthur in 1996, has yet to detail the scheme's timeline, cost, or disposal logistics, despite having secured the necessary legislation and funding. He urged states this week, on the 30th anniversary of Port Arthur, to engage constructively. Federal Labor had believed a national cabinet agreement reached in January would hold; the emerging resistance has left the government frustrated and exposed.
Purdie argued Queensland had already enacted leading laws on keeping firearms from dangerous individuals and would instead focus on interstate information-sharing and background check frameworks — framing the buyback as a symbolic measure that misses the real threat. The fracture lays bare a deeper tension: a tragedy that produced a royal commission has not produced the political solidarity that once allowed Australia to act as one. The federal government must now decide whether to proceed with willing states and accept a fragmented outcome, or seek a compromise that risks satisfying no one and honouring no precedent.
Queensland's police minister delivered a blunt rejection on Thursday of one of the Bondi royal commission's central recommendations: a national gun buyback scheme that Prime Minister Anthony Albanese had hoped would unite the country around tighter firearms controls. Dan Purdie said the state would not participate, arguing that buying back weapons from legal owners does nothing to stop terrorists and criminals from obtaining guns—the very problem the royal commission was convened to address after the December shooting at Bondi that killed six people and a police officer.
The rejection fractures what was supposed to be a coordinated national response. Commissioner Virginia Bell's interim report, handed down Thursday, had urged the federal government and states to accelerate a jointly funded buyback program. She also expressed concern that efforts to build a national gun register since the 2022 police killings at Wieambilla in Queensland had moved with what she called "unduly leisurely" pace. But Queensland's premier, David Crisafulli, had previously called for the royal commission as "a great way of making sure that we don't continue to repeat the mistakes of the past." His government's refusal to back the buyback suggests that support for the commission's work does not extend to its most visible recommendation.
New South Wales stands alone among the states in clearly backing the plan. The NT has ruled out participation entirely. South Australia said earlier this month it was not considering changes. Victoria is still reviewing findings from a separate assessment by former police chief Ken Lay, though a government spokesperson indicated the state would work with the federal government on strengthening gun laws—a careful formulation that stops short of endorsing the buyback. The political sensitivity is real: Victoria's state election is due in November, and toughening gun laws could prove contentious.
Albanese has not yet detailed the buyback's timeline, cost, or how firearms would be disposed of, despite having secured legislation and financing. The plan is framed as the largest gun buyback since John Howard's response to the Port Arthur massacre in 1996, when more than 650,000 firearms were destroyed. The prime minister urged states to engage constructively this week, marking the 30th anniversary of Port Arthur. Federal Labor is frustrated by the resistance, having believed the national cabinet agreement reached in January would hold.
Purdie's statement emphasized that Queensland had already passed "nation-leading laws" to keep guns from criminals and terrorists, and said the government would instead prioritize an interstate information-sharing program and background check framework. The framing suggests Queensland sees the buyback as a symbolic gesture that misses the real security problem. Pauline Hanson, leader of One Nation, went further, calling the royal commission a potential "waste of time and taxpayers' money" if it focused on firearms rather than immigration. She claimed the interim report itself stated that agencies had identified no gap in existing legal frameworks that prevented the Bondi attack—a reading that inverts the commission's concern about leisurely progress on the gun register.
The collapse of consensus exposes a deeper tension in Australian federalism. A royal commission convened to examine a mass shooting has produced recommendations that the states most directly affected are unwilling to implement. Albanese's government now faces the choice of proceeding with a buyback in willing states only, or attempting to negotiate a compromise that might satisfy holdouts. Neither path offers the unified national response that the Port Arthur precedent seemed to promise.
Notable Quotes
Queensland will not be progressing a gun buyback as it doesn't focus on keeping guns out of the hands of terrorists and criminals— Dan Purdie, Queensland police and emergency services minister
We've put in place the legislation and indeed the financing is there to achieve an outcome which is consistent with the recommendations from the royal commission— Prime Minister Anthony Albanese
The Hearth Conversation Another angle on the story
Why would Queensland reject a buyback if the royal commission specifically recommended it?
Because Queensland's government sees the buyback as addressing the wrong problem. They argue it only takes guns from people who already follow the law. The real issue, in their view, is keeping weapons from people who don't care about legality—criminals and extremists.
But doesn't a buyback reduce the overall number of guns in circulation?
It does. But Queensland's position is that you can't buy back guns that were never registered or legally owned in the first place. They're saying the commission should have focused on closing gaps in enforcement and information-sharing instead.
Is Queensland alone in this?
Not entirely. The Northern Territory ruled out participation too. South Australia said no. Victoria is still deciding. Only New South Wales has clearly backed the plan. It's a fracture the federal government didn't expect.
What does the commission actually say about whether the system failed?
That's the interesting part. The interim report suggests agencies had all the legal tools they needed—no gaps in the framework. But it also says the work on a national gun register has been slow. So there's a tension: the system didn't fail because of missing laws, but implementation has been leisurely.
So what happens now?
The federal government has the money and legislation in place, but without state cooperation, a truly national buyback is impossible. They could proceed in willing states, but that defeats the whole point of a unified response.