‘Big move to keep Australians safe’: National firearms register celebrated

Australian Federal Police Association President Alex Caruana says the introduction of a national firearms register, three decades on from the Port Arthur massacre, is a ‘’really big move” by the government.

“This is a really big move to keep policing, and the Australian community safe,” Mr Caruana told Sky News Australia.

“What it does is it creates a data base that allows real time information for police officers that are going to attend jobs, and it may help to reduce some atrocities that have happened previously.”

The $250 million national register comes three decades on from the Port Arthur massacre which claimed the lives of 35 people.

The Prime Minister has offered to bail out the states and territories and cover a substantial proportion of the costs, making the eight registers compatible with the new national data base.