WA has reduced the number of guns in the state by one quarter after firearms shake-up

Western Australia’s tough gun law reforms have reduced the number of firearms in the state by a quarter, and there are 11,200 fewer licence holders than in January 2022, when the Labor government began its overhaul of the legislation.

As the federal government readies to launch its own gun buyback scheme after the horror Bondi shooting, figures provided to WAtoday by Police Minister Reece Whitby reveal there were 272,453 licensed firearms in the state as of December 12 and 77,781 individual gun licence holders.

That constitutes a drop of more than a quarter in the number of licensed firearms compared to early 2022, when there were about 360,000 firearms registered and about 89,000 gun licences in the state.

WA’s gun laws have been thrust to the national spotlight as the New South Wales government embarks on reforms of their own gun laws following the Bondi terrorist attack, which was carried out using legally acquired guns. WA Premier Roger Cook is also set to join NSW Premier Chris Minns to lead a national cabinet response to gun reform.

Whitby said such a massive reduction in two years was a “powerful result” and showed the success of buyback schemes, tough legislation and relentless police work.

“These figures show our strong gun laws are working and making the Western Australian community safer,” he said.

“We’ve taken guns out of the hands of outlaw motorcycle gangs, sovereign citizens and serious and family domestic violence offenders, and that is saving lives.

“Fewer guns means a safer state, and we thank the responsible firearm owners through this process as we prioritise community safety.”

Since first announcing sweeping gun reforms in January 2022, the state government has run six gun buyback periods.

The current buyback period, which the government has said is the last, includes rapid-release firearms and will finish on January 14.

It is unclear how the Commonwealth government’s announced gun buyback will work with WA’s buybacks.

In its mid-year budget update on Thursday, the WA government added a further $7 million to the buyback kitty, taking the total spend in the past two years to nearly $30 million.

The state also committed a further $5.5 million to the reform program rollout and $2.8 million to help the rollout of the online firearms portal, which was the subject of a scathing parliamentary review after a troubled rollout saw thousands of firearms owners unable to access it.

Some of the firearms licences that have been cancelled include those that police have revoked.

In response to questions in parliament in November, the government revealed 495 people had been subject to firearm licence revocations due to mandatory disqualifying offences and 1383 guns had been seized.

These included a group of sovereign citizens who had their guns removed after Police Commissioner Col Blanch determined they were not fit and proper people to own guns under the tougher gun laws.

The new laws include tougher restrictions on gun storage, which has also forced the Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development to upgrade its own storage facilities for $1.1 million.

However, Nationals leader Shane Love rubbished Whitby’s claims the laws were a success.

“I don’t know if you would call it a success so much as a demonstration that people who have lawfully obtained firearms and used them for decades without issue have been forced to surrender their firearms because of these laws,” he said.

Love said, anecdotally, competitive shooters had been the hardest hit because there were fewer shooting clubs in the state, making it harder to be a member of a club – which was a stipulation of a competition firearms licence.

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