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Lobby says 1m registered guns in NSW

Gun Control Australia says NSW now has more than one million registered firearms as it campaigns for severe restrictions on licensing.

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Gun control is still a discussion point in NSW. Source: AAP

More than 850 guns belonging to three Sydneysiders are among one million registered firearms across NSW, new data shows.

The trio is among 100 people whose private arsenal exceeds 70 firearms despite them not being collectors or dealers.

Gun Control Australia on Saturday said one person, an Eastgardens resident, owns 305 guns while the others, located in Mosman and North Sydney, both have more than 265 weapons to their names.

Overall, most of the state's 1,007,786 firearms are hunting rifles or shotguns.

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The GCA says NSW is the most obvious example of "compliance slippage" with the National Firearms Agreement, struck after the 1996 Port Arthur massacre.

They want to see the state's 237,000 individual licence holders restricted to owning just two guns, except in special cases or when the owner is a genuine collector.

Annual audits of all gun clubs would also be mandatory under the 14-point policy the GCA wants political parties to adopt.

"NSW gun laws breach the National Firearms Agreement 11 times, including by allowing silencers, removing the need to provide a reason to acquire additional firearms, and having no limits on ammunition purchases," GCA president Sam Lee said in a statement.

"We are concerned that community safety is being compromised as a result of backroom political deals done to appease minor parties.

"(Those parties) are out of step with the overwhelming majority of Australians who want to see sensible and uniform gun restrictions."

The report also claims there are serious flaws with the way the Try Shooting program for unlicensed people is run.

While each participant is required to fill out a personal history form before they can shoot, the forms rely on the participant not lying and aren't submitted to the state registry, the GCA says.

Hard copy files of the forms were inspected at only 16 per cent of NSW clubs in 2017/18.

Police Minister Troy Grant and opposition police spokesman Guy Zangari have been contacted for comment.


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