Bruce in West Oz
Member
Prices set in handgun crackdown
June 30 2003
By_Phillip Hudson
Political Correspondent
Canberra
Gun owners will be paid up to $7350 for their firearms under the national handgun buyback scheme to begin tomorrow.
The Federal Government predicts 65,000 guns will be handed in under the $118 million scheme that starts on July 1 in all states except New South Wales and South Australia, where it will begin on October 1.
The buyback and an amnesty for handing in illegal guns is the central plank of a handgun crackdown brokered by Prime Minister John Howard and Victorian Premier Steve Bracks after a licensed gun owner killed two students and injured five others last October in a shooting spree at Monash University.
Legitimate sporting shooters will only be allowed to own handguns to a maximum calibre of .38, with a limit of 10 shots and a minimum barrel length of 120mm for semi-automatics and 100mm for single-shot guns and revolvers.
But negotiations are still continuing between Canberra and the states about allowing a special class of target shooters to own guns up to .45 calibre.
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A price list for more than 4500 handguns, obtained by The Age, reveals payments will be at a set amount based on whether their firearm is new, used in very good condition or used in fair condition.
Between $500 and $2000 will be paid for the most popular types of handguns, while specialist firearms will be bought back for as much as $7350.
The Victorian Government will be responsible for collecting the guns and paying compensation. An education campaign for sporting shooters, gun dealers and collectors will be launched this week.
It is expected that police stations will be used as collection points for the buyback. However, a spokeswoman for Police Minister Andre Haermeyer was last night unable to provide details.
An internet site, www.handgunbuyback.gov.au, will allow people to submit their firearm details to check if it is on the list and the price offered. Prices will vary for different gun models and specifications and gun owners will be able to appeal to an independent valuation panel if they do not agree with the price. Different prices may apply for gun dealers and wholesalers.
Under the buyback, owners of the popular Glock 22 .40 calibre semi-automatic will be given up to $731.45 for a gun in very good condition.
The Government will pay up to $945.62 for a stainless steel Smith & Wesson 357 magnum revolver model 66 and up to $1225.13 for the Walther PPK.
Weapons owned by the Monash gunman are on the list. They include the Beretta .32 semi-automatic Tomcat pocket pistol, will be bought back for between $455 and $844, the Beretta model 89 semi-automatic (up to $1170), the Beretta 92FS (up to $1983) and the CZ 75 9mm (up to $1750).
The highest-priced gun is the highly-modified Strayer Voight JPP infinity IMM semi-automatic racegun, which includes optical sights for competitive shooting. The Government will pay $7350.75 for one in very good condition.
At the other end of the scale, the Government will pay as little as $33 for a collectable 1851 Euroarms Colt Navy revolver.
The Government will also buy back guns that are not banned from people who will no longer qualify for a shooting licence under new graduated restrictions on access to guns and licensing rules. The government has said under the new system, the Monash gunman would have been denied access to handguns.
Federal Justice Minister Chris Ellison said Victoria's firearm registry had played a key role in creating the price list in conjunction with other governments, gun dealers and sporting shooters.
"This is a significant reform which achieves a balance between the interests of legitimate sporting shooters and public safety," Senator Ellison said.
He said a key part of the buyback was to ban "snub-nosed pocket pistols and easily concealable hand guns" from the community.
Gun control advocates have criticised the buyback as not being tough enough, arguing that it would not cut the number of guns in the community because gun owners would use taxpayers' funds to trade an illegal gun for a legal one.
Sporting Shooters Association spokesman Gary Fleetwood said the "prices for individual firearm owners are fair and transparent" based on his group's involvement in five price reviews.
But Mr Fleetwood said the gun buyback was not sensible policy and would have little impact on illegal guns. "It's not going to stop the illegal activity in firearms and the type of gang killings that happened in Melbourne," he said. "This buyback may be politically popular but it is not smart. The $100 million cost could be better spent on giving police more resources to take illegal guns out of the community and pursue those involved in illegal trafficking of firearms."
Senator Ellison rejected the criciticsm. "This doesn't mean we are taking our eyes off the main target of illegal guns. We have introduced national firearms trafficking legislation and the Australian Crime Commisison's first job is to tackle this issue," he said.
The buy-back scheme will be the biggest since the Government spent more than $315 million to buy back 643,238 guns after the Port Arthur massacre.
Remember, these handguns will be destroyed on the spot by two-tonne crusher -- no matter their historical, social or monetary value.
The following link allows you to download a .pdf file of prices offered by make and model. Read 'em and weep. (I don't know how long this link will be active.)
http://www.theage.com.au/pdf/handguns.pdf
Bruce
, which screws its value anyway.
