Good point! The other mass scale bans ("buy-backs") in the past were politically motivated as a result of serious incidents with firearms (eg Port Arthur, Melbourne university) more to be seen to be doing something than actually fixing anything.

This current ban proposal hasn't really been provoked by anything. It would be good if they chose to spend tax payer's money with more diligence and acountability. I wonder what the costs are to make changes to the legislation, not to mention the man power and processes put in place to handle another buyback?

I wonder what public consensus would be on this issue if it reached the media - which it won't because it is not newsworthy.