Tasmania yet to commit to national gun buyback scheme

The state government is remaining tight-lipped on a joint gun-buyback scheme with the Commonwealth.

Under proposed legislation, straight-pull and button/lever-release (self-ejecting) centre-fire and shotgun firearms will be reclassified as Category C licence guns – which can generally only be owned by primary producers or those employed in the industry.

The government plans to establish a gun buyback for people affected by the changes, offering incentive payments of 1.5 times the gun's value.

However, that is subject to a jointly funded buyback with the Federal Government.

The NSW government and the Commonwealth recently announced a joint gun buyback scheme, becoming the first state in Australia to do so.

NSW Premier Chris Minns said it was "bigger than the Howard-era" scheme and would likely cost "hundreds of millions of dollars".

Tasmanian Premier Jeremy Rockliff did not indicate when or whether it would follow NSW’s lead.

“We’ve got very strong and robust legislation when it comes to firearm reform in Tasmania and supporting traditional users of firearms, including primary producers and recreational hunters, but also cracking down on those who are in possession of stolen firearms or indeed steal firearms - so those penalties are increasing with our legislation,” Mr Rockliff said.

“We’ve had broad feedback around our reforms, some 600 submissions, and we’re working our way through that now.”

The federal government has said that for each state’s gun buyback scheme, it would contribute 50 per cent for administration costs and fully fund the destruction of surrendered weapons.

“I’m pleased to see that the Prime Minister has increased the offering when it comes to the gun buyback,” Mr Rockliff said.

“I expect this to be a topic of discussion in National Cabinet on August 26, and we look forward to having legislation in our parliament for debate and discussion over the next few weeks.”