Government blocks Butler’s motion to scrap gun buyback scheme

The NSW government has blocked a push by Member for Barwon Roy Butler to abandon the current version of a state gun buyback scheme.

Mr Butler had tabled a disallowance motion for the Firearms Amendment (Transitional Provisions) Regulation 2026.

This is the regulation that provides the framework for the buyback scheme which is due to come into effect on 2 November.

Mr Butler said up to 274,000 firearms would be taken as a result of the program.

“That is close to a quarter of the total firearms registered in this state and around 50,000 law-abiding licence holders will be affected. It is not because Bondi does not matter,” he told parliament.

“Fifteen people died at a Chanukah celebration, which is a wound that this state will carry forever. Grief is not a reason to stop asking hard questions.

“Will this actually work? That is exactly when we owe people the most scrutiny.

“We were told this buyback was urgent and necessary to keep us safe.

“What does the evidence say? In April this year the Royal Commission on Antisemitism and Social Cohesion handed down its interim report. Commissioner Bell found that our existing laws did not hinder agencies from preventing or responding to the Bondi attack. Let that sit for a moment.

“Our firearms laws were not the problem. Firstly, what the commissioner flagged were gaps in intelligence-sharing and resourcing.

“That is where the failures happened, not in a farmer’s gun safe in Barwon.”

Mr Butler said this regulation locked in a different response.

“Hundreds of millions of dollars worth of legally owned firearms will be taken from a quarter of a million law-abiding people, most of them living in regional New South Wales,” he said.

“This buyback is meant to be a national scheme but it simply is not. New South Wales is the only State that has signed on to fund it.

“Queensland and Victoria have ruled it out. The Northern Territory will not fund it, and South Australia, Tasmania and the ACT have stalled.”

Mr Butler also voiced concern in putting the responsibility to run the scheme on to the NSW Police Force, which he said was already “thousands of officers short”.

“This regulation hands them a new job, starting in seven weeks,” he said.

“Firearms dealers are being offered grants of $25,000 to keep their doors open but industry estimates that one-third of those dealers are at risk of closing anyway.

“All of that work that is currently being done by those dealers will land on our overstretched police.”

Mr Butler also pointed out to the house that firearm crimes were down, with the exception being drive-by shootings linked to organised crime in western Sydney.

“Disallowing this regulation does not stop the government responding to the Bondi incident and it does not stop a buyback happening,” he said.

“It stops this version of it, which is rushed, under-consulted and unevenly funded.

“It is leaning on an overstretched police force and is built on compensation that shortchanges the people being asked to comply.

“A vote to disallow is a vote to go back and consider the evidence and to consult properly the people who understand firearms. Good government listens before it legislates.”

Police Minister Yasmin Catley acknowledged Mr Butler’s concerns and said he had been steadfast in his position on the matter.

“While the government does not agree with the Member for Barwon’s position, may I say on behalf of the government that we recognise that he has represented his position with integrity, and I thank the Member for Barwon for that,” Ms Catley said.

“The Firearms Amendment (Transitional Provisions) Regulation 2026 relates squarely to caps imposed under the Terrorism and Other Legislation Amendment Act 2025.

“The regulation gives effect to critical aspects of the legislation that the parliament passed with broad support in the aftermath of one of the darkest days in our state.”

Member for Coffs Harbour and leader of the NSW Nationals, Gurmesh Singh, described the buyback as “unfunded, unfair and unworkable”.

“Under repeated questioning during budget estimates, the government has been unable to provide a dollar figure for the buyback, so we do not even know how much it will cost,” he said.

Mr Singh voiced concern on the impact on law-abiding gun shop owners while also acknowledging such a scheme would have little impact on city crime.

“So far this year there have been over 50 gangland shootings. This will do nothing to stem that tide,” he said.

After a pause in debate, members continued to discuss the disallowance motion before the Deputy Speaker of the Legislative Assembly, Sonia Hornery, halted the discussion and asked Mr Butler to speak in reply.

This effectively gagged other regional parliamentarians from providing input into the matter.

Member for Upper Hunter Dave Layzell and Member for Tamworth Kevin Anderson interjected.

“I thought we were allowed to speak,” Mr Anderson said.

Mr Butler said he was genuinely disappointed not to hear from other members of parliament, particularly regional members.

” This is a major issue for people not just in regional New South Wales but also across the state,” Mr Butler told parliament.

“Some 41 per cent of firearms are in metropolitan areas as well. It is not right that members are not able to speak on this issue.

“It is a bit like the decisions that were made in December of last year – it is not right – and those birds will come home to roost.

“There is a key theme that I have seen, and this is not personal. This is not me saying that I do not like individuals.

“The key theme is a total lack of understanding of firearms and the regulation of firearms.

“It shocked me in December and it shocks me again now that members of parliament are making laws in this state that have real impacts on people’s businesses and people’s lives without knowing what they are talking about.”