Firearms
Article
Australia’s gun numbers climb: men who own several buy more than ever before
The proud claim that Australia may have “solved the gun problem” might only be a temporary illusion. In recent years, arms dealers have imported more guns than ever before. And last year we crossed a symbolic threshold: for the first time in 20 years, Australia’s national arsenal of private guns is larger than it was...
Statistics
Firearm imports, Australia: Non-air modern firearms for civilian possession, 1988 to 2015 (ABS)
In the 27 years from 1988 to 2015, Australians imported more than a million guns. Many of these replaced firearm types prohibited and destroyed during federal firearm buybacks, or surrendered in dozens of state gun amnesties. This table lists national firearm import totals provided by the Australian Bureau of Statistics for the years 1988/89 to...
Report
Illicit small arms in the Pacific
This project conducted a strategic assessment of the illicit small arms in the Western Pacific island region with a focus on Fiji, Solomon Islands and Papua New Guinea (excluding Bougainville). Executive summary With the exception of Papua New Guinea, the number of illicit small arms likely to be in circulation in Western Pacific island countries...
Article
If lawful firearm owners cause most gun deaths, what can we do?
In the frustrating struggle to identify gun killers in advance, we could have been looking in the wrong place. By accepting the common mantra that law-abiding, licensed firearm owners are not the problem, many have chased popular fears such as mental illness and violent video games. Research now shows that far more frequently, perpetrators share...
Statistics
Mass gun killings in Australia and New Zealand, 1987-2015
Of 130 victims shot dead, 56% were killed by a licensed gun owner. Most were shot by a killer with no previous history of violent crime or mental illness. All the perpetrators were men.