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Police Ministers Council

The Hon Mark Dreyfus KC MP
Media Release

Tomorrow I will chair a meeting of the Police Ministers Council to discuss key law enforcement priorities including a National Firearms Register, cybercrime, Closing the Gap and addressing criminal street gangs.

Following the tragic event at Wieambilla in Queensland last December, National Cabinet tasked Police Ministers to provide options to implement a National Firearms Register.

An extraordinary Police Ministers Council was held in April to discuss the Register. Since then extensive efforts have been undertaken by the Commonwealth and all jurisdictions to advance work on this critical public safety initiative. This has included detailed scoping of a Register, a public consultation process, and the development of options.

At the Police Ministers Council meeting we will discuss options for a National Firearms Register for National Cabinet’s consideration.

A National Firearms Register would provide police across all Australian jurisdictions with timely and accurate information to assess firearms risks and protect the community from harm.

I look forward to continuing to work constructively with my colleagues on this important initiative.

A communiqué of key meeting outcomes will be available on the Attorney-General's Department website following the meeting.