STATE Orange MP Phil Donato has taken aim at the recently announced New South Wales-run and Federally backed gun buyback program.
Revealed in mid-August, the program, which has only been committed to by the NSW and Australian Capital Territory governments, would see gun owners paid a flat rate for the firearms.
Mr Donato, who currently sits as an independent MP, but was elected in 2016 as a member of the Shooters, Fishers and Farmers Party, said the buyback was problematic on several fronts.
That includes the rate gun owners are being offered; with $450 set for an air rifle and $1000 for centre-fire rifles.
“The government needs to explain how it arrived at these figures,” Mr Donato said.
“A fixed payment of $450 or $1000 does not necessarily reflect what these firearms are actually worth.
“These are law-abiding people who have complied with the rules, paid their fees, stored their firearms properly and followed the law.
“They are now being told that property they lawfully purchased can be taken from them; in most cases for well below its market value.”
The scheme, set to get underway in early November, is expected to impact about 50,000 firearm licence holders and covers some 274,000 guns.
A higher value gun buyback component is planned to get underway in 2027, with up to $10,000 available per firearm.
“What exactly is a ‘higher-value’ firearm? Who decides what it is worth? What valuation methodology will be used, and what right will an owner have to challenge an assessment?” Mr Donato said.
“These are not minor details. We are talking about people’s property and, potentially, thousands of dollars in value.”
At the same time, Mr Donato said gun retailers were set to be impacted heavily, with grants of up to $25,000 set to cover impacts on the scheme on their business.
“A $25,000 grant is simply not an adequate response for a business that may have hundreds of thousands of dollars legitimately invested in stock,” he said.
“These dealers purchased their stock lawfully and operated their businesses within the rules set by government. They should not be left carrying the financial burden of a policy change they did not cause.
“Some dealers are already struggling. This scheme could push otherwise viable small businesses to the wall, and many will not survive long enough to receive the government’s paltry offer.
“I’ve been lobbying government all year to support these businesses, yet it’s been ignored.
“The Bondi businesses were given almost immediate financial support, but firearms dealers have been thrown on the scrapheap like the firearms the government will now pay cents on the dollar for.”
Despite Mr Donato saying the amounts being offered to gun owners and retailers being too low, he also warned the buyback program could blow out to “close to $1 billion.”
“Think about what that money could do in regional hospitals, schools, roads, public transport, or essential services,” he said.
“This scheme primarily targets people who are already licensed, registered and operating within the law. Those people are not the ones driving the illegal firearms trade.
“If the objective is to get illegal guns off the streets, then the government should be concentrating on criminals, trafficking networks, illegal imports and the failures that allow prohibited firearms to reach the criminal market.
“Taking firearms away from people who have done nothing wrong does not, by itself, solve the problem of criminals possessing illegal firearms.
“The government needs to answer some very basic questions”