Canada gun buybacks warning for Australia | Queensland Country Life

queenslandcountrylife.com.au · Feb 19, 2026 · Collected from GDELT

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The Albanese government is facing an uphill battle to ensure its national firearm buyback scheme is a success. Picture supplied.While the Commonwealth works on a national gun buyback scheme in response to the Bondi massacre, Canada has just launched its own version - and the rollercoaster ride for authorities in that nation is a cautionary tale for the Albanese government.Subscribe now for unlimited access to all our agricultural news across the nation or signup to continue readingAll articles from our website & appThe digital version of This Week's PaperOur entire networkMandatory national buybacks are rare globally and tend to accompany a wider legislative response to mass shootings.The first two were in the UK after 16 people were murdered in Hungerford, south-east England, in 1987, and then at the Dunblane Primary School in 1996, in central Scotland, where 15 students and one teacher were murdered. The next was in Australia after the 1996 Port Arthur massacre, where 35 died at the old convict site, then New Zealand after the 2019 Christchurch mosque shootings that saw 55 perish, then Canada.More than 600,000 guns were handed in under the John Howard-era program, with bipartisan backing and coordinated state participation a formula for success that remains the global benchmark. This time, however, reform is not following the same easy passage for Labor.In a mirror of the Canadian experience, strong public support for tighter gun controls and buybacks have not stopped political divisions, funding disputes, accusations of unfairness and potentially fragmented enforcement.Canada's Assault-Style Firearms Compensation Program was triggered by a lone wolf rampage that left 22 dead in the east coast province of Nova Scotia.Ottawa immediately banned 2500 models of assault-style firearms and announced a buyback that was intended to start a long time ago but only became operational in January this year following years of debate, pushback and logistical challenges.And the drama is far from over.The majority of the nation's 10 provinces and three territories remain opposed to the buyback to some degree, with Alberta, Saskatchewan, and Manitoba refusing to participate at all. Others have said they will not issue financial incentives to owners handing in weapons and some local police are refusing to collect them at all.In response, federal "mobile collection units" have been proposed to retrieve guns directly from owners, but with roughly 12 million firearms in circulation across a vast federation the situation is a major hurdle.The pool of funding for the program, which has already blown out by 500 per cent, will also only cover 136,000 firearms to be paid on a first-come, first-served basis.In a statement similar to those made by Australia's Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke, Canada's Public Safety Minister Gary Anandasangaree said that while participating in the compensation program was voluntary, "compliance with the law is not."Firearm owners only have until March 31 to hand in weapons to receive payments; after that the guns still must be handed in, but financial incentives will be off the table.Pushback from Canada's Conservative Party, sports shooters and primary producers has also snowballed over the years as expanding law changes have further impinged old rights, including significantly impacting farmers, ranchers and locals relying on guns for pest control, livestock protection and management and subsistence hunting.Australia's fracturing responseWhile New Zealand's buyback, two in South America in the mid-2000s and local voluntary efforts in the US have proven successful, the Canadian example tells Canberra that the world may be a different place from 25 years ago.Labor successfully got its Combatting Antisemitism, Hate and Extremism (Firearms and Customs Laws) Bill 2026 through parliament last month, banning several weapons from import, tightening border controls, fast-tracking a National Firearms Register and laying down the buyback framework.However, the shape reform will ultimately take will only become clear as jurisdictions outline their positions ahead of a May 1 deadline set by the government.Without clarity on which firearms will be restricted or reclassified, Canberra cannot determine the scale - or cost - of compensation.But in a blow for Labor, Queensland has drawn a clear line with the Crisafulli government refusing to participate in the buyback scheme, regardless of who funds it, in arguing that it would focus on targeting criminals and extremists, not licensed users.The Northern Territory may also not support it and, along with South Australia and Tasmania, may refuse to help pay for what Labor wanted to be a 50:50 co-funded exercise.A question also remains around who will collect the guns.The Minns government in NSW moved fastest in introducing legislation capping ownership at four guns, 10 for primary producers, banning some weapons, changing licensing conditions and mandating Australian citizenship for owners.NSW Farmers president Xavier Martin, who previously labelled the reforms "a mad dog's breakfast", said work must still be done to ensure food and fibre production isn't compromised.The group is calling for fair market compensation for surrendered firearms, including ammunition, parts and accessories, and a workable pathway for farmers needing more than 10 firearms.National Farmers' Federation interim chief executive Su McCluskey has also emphasised the need for fair compensation and warned that the "most substantial impacts" of the laws will come from state and territory laws governing ownership caps and licensing.Victoria is reviewing licensing thresholds and ownership limits, with a report due next month, while Victorian Farmers Federation president Brett Hosking said he believed the state's gun laws were "fit for purpose".Tasmania, one of the largest gun ownership states on a per capita basis, is not focused on changing rules in favour of toughening licence screening and compliance protocols. Meanwhile, Western Australia has completed what Premier Roger Cook described as "nation-leading" reforms to its outdated firearm legislation.A total of 83,764 firearms were surrendered across multiple voluntary buyback schemes in that state between 2024 and January this year, with a 24pc reduction in total firearm ownership and tightened ownership caps and licensing requirements.Despite this Mr Cook said the state was willing to part of the national buyback.DailyDaily HeadlinesToday's top stories curated by our news team.