The largest number of guns owned by a single person in the Bega electorate is 72.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
That's according to the latest data on private firearm ownership obtained through a freedom of information application to the NSW Police by the NSW Greens.
Released on the party's website Too Many Guns, which lists the reported number of registered guns and gun owners in the state by postcode, the data also states there are 14,639 firearms in the electorate possessed by 3509 owners.
NSW Greens MP David Shoebridge said the information showed the number of guns in the state overall was back to what it was before the laws tightened following the Port Arthur tragedy, as well as an increase in private arsenals.
"I think what this data shows is there are too many guns in NSW," he said.
"This isn't a collection of tennis racquets, guns are designed to kill things - and that's the distinction."
READ MORE:
Concerns Mr Shoebridge expressed included that private arsenals could be targeted by organised crime and data showed stolen firearms were a factor in crime; while another was that someone who owned a gun licence could "endlessly recycle the same reason" when applying for a new gun.
Guns by postcode
When it came to the postcode 2550 - which covers a large part of the Bega Valley including Bega, Candelo, Tathra, Bemboka and Cobargo - there were 1467 registered firearms owners who had a total of 6097 registered firearms.
This was an increase of 586 guns from figures two years ago, which is also listed on the Too Many Guns website.
In the postcode, the largest number of guns held by one owner was 50.
But this did not even make it into the list of the top 100 highest-owning individuals in NSW, excluding firearms held by collectors and arms dealers.
Coming in first was the postcode 2353 which covers the region of Moonbi north of Tamworth, where one owner had 311 firearms.
In the postcode 2546, which runs from Dalmeny south through Bermagui to Barragga Bay, there were 447 registered firearm owners and 1894 registered firearms.
In Merimbula's postcode of 2548 there were 194 owners and 754 firearms.
Pambula's postcode of 2549 had 267 owners and 1095 firearms.
Then in Eden's postcode of 2551 there were 203 owners with 794 firearms.
Mr Shoebridge believed there were genuine reasons to own up to about five guns, for instance for controlling different pest animals such as pigs and rabbits.
"We understand why someone, perhaps on a rural property, will need access to more than one firearm," he said.
"But what does someone in Bega need 50 firearms for? That's what we're concerned about."
Claims of public safety risk
Shooters, Fishers and Farmers MLC Robert Borsak has criticised Too Many Guns, saying the biggest risk to public safety was the release of this personal information and data.
"The Greens provided criminals with a shopping list of addresses, when they published the locations and the number of firearms that can be found at those locations, on the toomanyguns.org website," he said.
"This provides a criminal with all the information they need to target, locate and steal firearms from farmers."
But Mr Shoebridge said it was a "ridiculous notion" that identifying the suburb where guns were kept would lead to thefts.
"The idea someone would rob every house in Bega to find the one place where 50 guns are stored is nonsense," he said.
He said would-be thieves were instead known to eavesdrop in pubs or follow people home from gun clubs to learn where arsenals were located.
Mr Shoebridge said the data in Too Many Guns related to individuals not gun clubs, excluded collectors and firearm dealers, and referred to physical guns, not licences.
Nor did it include paintball guns, with him saying it did not record "Napoleonic muskets" but were all "functional firearms".
The Greens are calling for police to "properly enforce firearm laws" by ensuring people had a genuine reasons for each additional firearm, as well as a "stringent test" when someone already owns five guns yet wants more, he said.
Albert McKnight
Journalist at Bega District News.
Journalist at Bega District News.
