Philip Alpers - Profile on Academia.edu (original) (raw)

Books by Philip Alpers

With support from the United Nations Trust Facility Supporting Cooperation on Arms Regulation (UN... more With support from the United Nations Trust Facility Supporting Cooperation on Arms Regulation (UNSCAR), our work has focused on applying global arms control instruments-the Arms Trade Treaty (ATT) and the United Nations small arms Programme of Action (UNPoA)predominantly in Southeast Asia, the Pacific and the Caribbean. We provide states with full-scope support to enable them to understand the technical requirements of international arms control instruments, to incorporate their provisions in national policies and legal frameworks and to implement compatible local arms control systems. CAVR also hosts the Secretariat of the Pacific Small Arms Action Group (PSAAG), a network of civil society organisations in Oceania which acts as regional coordinator for Control Arms and supports linked global systems such as the Arms Trade Treaty-Baseline Assessment Project (ATT-BAP) and the International Small Arms Control Standards (ISACS). The Centre for Armed Violence Reduction is a charity registered with the Australian Charities and Not-for-profits Commission (ACNC), ABN 62 161 762 778.

The Centre for Armed Violence Reduction (CAVR) focuses on preventing the flow of illicit conventi... more The Centre for Armed Violence Reduction (CAVR) focuses on preventing the flow of illicit conventional arms. This is the second edition of our Implementation Guide for the Arms Trade Treaty (ATT) and the UN Small Arms Programme of Action (UNPoA). Launched at the United Nations in New York, the Guide is used around the world at international meetings and distributed to government officials. Our aim is to help governments develop an effective interagency coordinating mechanism, to adopt the Arms Trade Treaty and to speed implementation of the UNPoA.

The rate at which states adopted the Arms Trade Treaty (ATT) surprised even its sponsors. Yet the... more The rate at which states adopted the Arms Trade Treaty (ATT) surprised even its sponsors. Yet the treaty is often misunderstood and misrepresented – by some, mistrusted. Facts and answers can be found in a variety of sources, but until now the treaty lacked a compendium. The full breadth of advantages offered by the ATT, plus an accessible description of how it works had not been assembled in a single, thoroughly referenced source.

To refresh the ATT story, the Centre for Armed Violence Reduction and the Government of Australia offer the publication 'Reinvigorating the Narrative: The Broader Benefits of the Arms Trade Treaty'.

Summary booklets are available in Spanish, French and English.

In the volatile Southern Highlands Province (SHP) of Papua New Guinea (PNG), approximately 2,450 ... more In the volatile Southern Highlands Province (SHP) of Papua New Guinea (PNG), approximately 2,450 factory-made firearms are held by private owners. These include between 500 and 1,040 high-powered weapons, most of which are assault rifles. Very few of the guns in SHP were smuggled from foreign countries. Instead, police and soldiers within PNG supplied the most destructive firearms used in crime and conflict.

This study examines a wide range of small arms-related issues in 20 nations of the southern Pacif... more This study examines a wide range of small arms-related issues in 20 nations of the southern Pacific. It
investigates the status of existing firearm legislation, the extent of legal stockpiles and illicit trade, and
the socio-economic impacts of armed conflict on Pacific communities. Case histories examine more
closely the disarmament process in Bougainville and the Solomon Islands, along with the widespread
disruption wrought with small arms in Fiji and Papua New Guinea. Current initiatives to combat small
arms trafficking in the region are also examined.

Book Chapters by Philip Alpers

Washington University Journal of Law & Policy: 60 Wash. U. J. L. & Pol’y 255, 2019

This article argues that historical lessons in gun control point the way to potential improvement... more This article argues that historical lessons in gun control point the way to potential improvements in U.S. gun control in the future. The article begins by examining Australia’s response to the Port Arthur massacre in 1996, where the country acted quickly to ban certain weapons under the leadership of a conservative prime minister. Having had eleven mass shootings in the decade before the ban, Australia had zero in the two decades after. The article notes that similar programs were proposed in America by President Franklin Roosevelt, among others, and argues that they are likely to be enacted within the next generation or two.

Successful Public Policy: Lessons from Australia and New Zealand, 2019

Australian firearm policy had altered very little in 65 years prior to the 1990s. The events in A... more Australian firearm policy had altered very little in 65 years prior to the 1990s. The events in April 1996, however, precipitated 12 days that dramatically changed national firearm legislation. Thirty-five people were killed when a gunman opened fire at the Port Arthur Historic Site in the state of Tasmania. This chapter explores how these events created a ‘perfect storm’ of outrage, law and leadership that forced policy reform. It considers the political and constitutional challenges the national government faced and details the swift legislative changes implemented following the massacre. With over 20 years of research and data, this chapter describes the attitude adjustments which enabled effective enforcement of firearm legislation and the notable improvements to public health and safety which followed. Although these changes are widely credited with establishing the nation as a world leader in the prevention of armed violence, unintended consequences of Australia’s gun control laws may contain the seed of their own destruction.

In: Webster, Daniel W and Jon S Vernick, Eds. Reducing Gun Violence in America: Informing Policy with Evidence and Analysis ( Download E-book: http://jhupress.files.wordpress.com/2013/01/1421411113\_updf.pdf ), Jan 25, 2013

The Australian experience, catalyzed by 35 deaths in a single shooting spree, marked a national s... more The Australian experience, catalyzed by 35 deaths in a single shooting spree, marked a national sea change in attitudes, both to firearms and to those who own them. Led by a conservative government, Australians saw that, beliefs and fears aside, death and injury by gunshot could be as amenable to public health intervention as were motor vehicle–related deaths, drunk driving, tobacco-related disease, and the spread of HIV/AIDS.

The obstructions to firearm injury prevention are nothing new to public health. An industry and its self-interest groups focused on denial, the propagation of fear, and quasi-religious objections—we’ve seen it all before. But with gun violence, as with HIV/AIDS, waste-of-time notions such as evil, blame, and retribution can with time be sluiced away to allow long-proven public health procedures.

Given the opportunity and the effort, gun injury prevention can save lives as effectively as restricting access to rocket-propelled grenades and explosives or mandating child-safe lids on bottles of poison.

In: Karp, Aaron, Ed. Inconspicuous Disarmament: The Politics of Destroying Surplus Small Arms and Ammunition, Apr 2008

Faced with continuing thefts of small arms and ammunition from state armouries, followed by surgi... more Faced with continuing thefts of small arms and ammunition from state armouries, followed by surging gun violence and social disruption, Papua New Guinea (PNG) destroyed more than a third of its remaining military firearms. Although on a world scale the numbers were small, this disposal of surplus military small arms by the largest developing nation in the Pacific is shown to have been markedly successful in both implementation and effect. The five-year disposal process was encouraged by catalytic events, simultaneous rationalization of the PNG defence force, key individuals acting as persistent agents of change, and a foreign donor government providing encouragement, financing, and logistic support. Small arms disposal was not conducted in isolation, but as an integral component of a simultaneous, and much wider, rationalization of all assets of the PNG Defence Force. Despite this, political sensitivity remains high. Neither key party to the rationalization of the PNG defence force wishes to publicly acknowledge that Australia, Papua New Guinea's former colonial overseer and even now the holder of crucial purse strings, was instrumental in halving the nation's stockpile of military small arms.

Gun-running in Papua New Guinea: From Arrows to Assault Weapons

In: Henderson, John and Greg Watson (Eds). Securing a Peaceful Pacific, Dec 2005

In: Small Arms Survey 2004: Rights at Risk, Jul 2004

Recent events in the Pacific offer clear lessons, both in success and failure. Innovative links b... more Recent events in the Pacific offer clear lessons, both in success and failure. Innovative links between disarmament and national aspirations for autonomy, clear-cut contrasts between weapon collection methods deployed in adjacent island communities, the ‘good neighbour’ traditions of the region, and relative transparency of information all combine to provide a small laboratory of ideas and examples.

Pacific nations are no strangers to small arms. During the Second World War, island states in the region were home to thousands of armed troops, and suffered many bloody conflicts. More recently, small arms have reappeared as vectors of human rights abuse, death, and injury in the Solomon Islands, Papua New Guinea, Fiji, and even Australia.

Unlike its neighbours in South-east and South Asia, the region is not afflicted with large-scale trafficking. Yet the Pacific experience demonstrates how deeply even a small number of small arms can damage small communities. Armed conflict and violent crime have had profound social and economic effects in the region, not least on the
prospects of young Pacific Islanders.

The line between the legal and illegal small arms trade is as blurred in the Pacific region as it is anywhere. The great majority of firearms used in violence were legally imported, then diverted to crime from civilian, military, and police holdings.

Reports by Philip Alpers

Canada: Joint Federal/Provincial Commission into the April 2020 Nova Scotia Mass Casualty, 2022

A comparative study of large-scale firearm injury prevention initiatives in five countries, inclu... more A comparative study of large-scale firearm injury prevention initiatives in five countries, including national gun buybacks, amnesties and weapon destruction programmes.

Guns and the Pacific – A Wasteful Hiccup at the United Nations Recommended

Philip Alpers from the University of Sydney writes that “five years after the adoption of the UN ... more Philip Alpers from the University of Sydney writes that “five years after the adoption of the UN Programme of Action to address the illicit trade in small arms and light weapons”, the recent UN PoA Review Conference closed “without so much as an outcome document.” A spin-off Arms Trade Treaty, argues Alpers, “could distract from more direct and localised efforts to curb gun violence.”In Pacific Islands Forum countries, “civilians alone hold 3.1 million firearms, or one gun for every ten people”, writes Alpers. “After disastrous leakages of government guns in Fiji, the Solomon Islands and Papua New Guinea, Australia led the charge to help island nations lock up their small arms, building secure state armouries across the region. But of late, regional implementation of the UN PoA has lagged.”

Four consecutive formal reports have now found that no Australian State or Territory has at any s... more Four consecutive formal reports have now found that no Australian State or Territory has at any stage fully complied with the 1996 or 2002 firearm resolutions which collectively formed the National Firearms Agreement. In important areas, State and Territory legislation has been blocked or revised to dilute the effect of the NFA. This report, commissioned and funded by Gun Control Australia, finds that on balance, both non-compliance from day one and two decades of political pressure have steadily reduced restrictions and undermined the NFA’s original intent.

Community Interviews and a Guide to Small Arms in PNG, Jun 1, 2005

In 2003-2004, the Small Arms Survey completed a series of research projects across 20 nations of ... more In 2003-2004, the Small Arms Survey completed a series of research projects across 20 nations of the southwest Pacific. One of these, a survey of the proliferation of small arms and firearm-related violence in the strife-torn Southern Highlands of Papua New Guinea (Alpers, 2005), relies on a range of background information, field interviews from 19 communities, weapon descriptions and summaries of supplementary material which are not included in the published work. For the benefit of governments, donors, development agencies, NGOs and others with a stake in curbing the proliferation of small arms in Papua New Guinea, this additional information is provided here.

This paper provides background information for, and should be read as a supplement to:
Alpers, Philip. 2005. Gun-running in Papua New Guinea: From Arrows to Assault Weapons in the Southern Highlands. Special Report No. 5. Geneva: Small Arms Survey, June.

Policy Briefing, Aug 2003

There were an estimated 1,010-1,270 illegal high powered and commercial firearms in the Solomon I... more There were an estimated 1,010-1,270 illegal high powered and commercial firearms in the Solomon Islands – considerably more than the 500-700 commonly reported.

Competition Rooted in Violent Fantasy Would Pollute Olympics, Legitimize Powerful Non-Sporting We... more Competition Rooted in Violent Fantasy Would Pollute Olympics, Legitimize Powerful Non-Sporting Weapons

Combat shooting is a rehearsal for urban warfare, and a violent distortion of traditional target shooting. The Olympic movement is dedicated to non-violence, yet combat shooting would spawn the shoot-to-kill Olympics."

In New Zealand, 97% of licensed firearm owners are allowed to keep an unlimited number of guns in... more In New Zealand, 97% of licensed firearm owners are allowed to keep an unlimited number of guns in secret. The firearms held by these people – common sporting shotguns and rifles – are also the guns most often used in family violence, homicide, suicide, injury and crime.

By contrast the remaining 3% of gun owners possess weapons deemed more dangerous, namely handguns, military-style semi-automatics and machine guns. These must be individually registered by serial number to each owner. As a direct result of this careful registration, such weapons are far less commonly misused.

So the guns most often used to kill, injure and intimidate are those which are least controlled. Shotguns and rifles can be collected and kept in any quantity without the need to show a genuine reason to own them, and with no official record of the guns being kept anywhere.

Firearm registration, a system proven to work in many countries around the world, is not applied in this country to the guns which are most misused. New Zealand is now one of the very few Western countries which does not have this elementary form of control over all firearms.

Guns and a Prohibited Persons Register, Jun 1, 1997

One proposal to reduce gun-related death and injury is the establishment of a register of prohibi... more One proposal to reduce gun-related death and injury is the establishment of a register of prohibited persons – a “black list” of citizens suspected of mental instability or anti-social behaviour. These people could then be denied a firearms licence. Despite years of promotion by pro-gun lobby groups world-wide, no country or state has created such an additional register. In New Zealand, reasons for rejecting this proposal include:

- Existing registers already prevent hundreds of thousands of people from owning guns
- These could only be substantially enlarged by adding names on mere suspicion
- Such a list would unjustly stigmatise and discriminate against people with mental illness, who are no more likely than others to kill or injure another person with a gun
- Even if every person with a history of mental illness and/or violent crime was locked away, about eight in ten future gun killers would remain at large
- Such a list could encourage licensed gun owners to avoid responsibility for gun violence
- Without a register of firearms, police have no way of ensuring that a prohibited person has surrendered all his guns. Gun violence does not require a firearms licence – only a firearm

Mental Health Commission Fact Sheet, Jun 6, 1997

A typical gun homicide is committed by a licensed male gun owner with no record of violent crime ... more A typical gun homicide is committed by a licensed male gun owner with no record of violent crime or mental illness, using a legal firearm to kill someone he knows well. Australian, Canadian and New Zealand studies show alcohol is four times more likely to be a precipitating factor in homicide than mental illness. The proportion of gun killers diagnosed as mentally ill is smaller than the proportion of Australians and New Zealanders who suffer from mental illness at any given time.

To refresh the ATT story, the Centre for Armed Violence Reduction and the Government of Australia offer the publication 'Reinvigorating the Narrative: The Broader Benefits of the Arms Trade Treaty'.

Summary booklets are available in Spanish, French and English.

Washington University Journal of Law & Policy: 60 Wash. U. J. L. & Pol’y 255, 2019

Successful Public Policy: Lessons from Australia and New Zealand, 2019

In: Karp, Aaron, Ed. Inconspicuous Disarmament: The Politics of Destroying Surplus Small Arms and Ammunition, Apr 2008

Gun-running in Papua New Guinea: From Arrows to Assault Weapons

In: Henderson, John and Greg Watson (Eds). Securing a Peaceful Pacific, Dec 2005

In: Small Arms Survey 2004: Rights at Risk, Jul 2004

Canada: Joint Federal/Provincial Commission into the April 2020 Nova Scotia Mass Casualty, 2022

Guns and the Pacific – A Wasteful Hiccup at the United Nations Recommended

Community Interviews and a Guide to Small Arms in PNG, Jun 1, 2005

Policy Briefing, Aug 2003

Guns and a Prohibited Persons Register, Jun 1, 1997

Mental Health Commission Fact Sheet, Jun 6, 1997

New Zealand has come late to the gun culture. For the past century we prided ourselves on a healt... more New Zealand has come late to the gun culture. For the past century we prided ourselves on a healthy, safe attitude to firearms and low rates of gun crime. There was pride in our smile when visitors from North America were amazed to see unarmed police. That smile is now tinged with concern – a “yes, but” reaction as we acknowledge that guns have become a noticeable problem here, too.

The history of New Zealand’s gun control law is dominated by failure. Failure of gun owners to comply with the laws, failure of police and courts to enforce and uphold them, and most importantly the failure of successive Governments to provide the will and the resources to see the laws through.

At the same time we have pioneered and proved the worth of strict registration of individual firearms. Though New Zealand has consistently achieved this only with hand guns and restricted weapons, the low rate of misuse involving such firearms is acknowledged to be the result of registration. Now the challenge is to achieve the same result with the guns most commonly used in death, injury and crime – common sporting long guns.

Contrary to their popular image as low-powered "bunny guns," .22-calibre rifles are commonly used... more Contrary to their popular image as low-powered "bunny guns," .22-calibre rifles are commonly used in multiple shootings. In seven mass killings involving .22 rifles in Australia and New Zealand alone, 54 people died by gunfire.

"There is evidence that New Zealand gun owners and parents, while priding themselves on gun safet... more "There is evidence that New Zealand gun owners and parents, while priding themselves on gun safety as a group, often fail as individuals to take the precautions they recommend for others. Deactivation of weapons and the separation of guns from their ammunition, though perhaps the most widely known precautions, seem commonly neglected. As an increasing proportion of firearms are not easily disabled, this measure is now largely unenforceable. Despite more stringent security regulations universally in force for the past two and a half years, despite persistent publicity, many firearms owners still neglect the obligation to lock guns away."

If lawful firearm owners cause most gun deaths, what can we do?

The Conversation, Oct 7, 2015

In the frustrating struggle to identify gun killers in advance, we could have been looking in the... more In the frustrating struggle to identify gun killers in advance, we could have been looking in the wrong place. By accepting the common mantra that law-abiding, licensed firearm owners are not the problem, many have chased popular fears such as mental illness and violent video games. Research now shows that far more frequently, perpetrators share one common thread. In mass shootings, in gun homicide and particularly in much more common gun deaths, the killer is frequently, until that moment, a law-abiding firearm owner pulling the trigger on a lawfully held gun. Read the full article on The Conversation

Australian government assault rifle now a common crime gun in Papua New Guinea

The Australian SLR remains the experienced criminal\u27s assault weapon of choice writes Philip A... more The Australian SLR remains the experienced criminal\u27s assault weapon of choice writes Philip Alpers. Of the 7,664 M-16 and SLR assault rifles delivered to the PNG Defence Force since 1971, only 2,013 (26 per cent) remain in stock. Now, Australia faces the near-inevitability of its own peacemakers facing its own guns

Gun lobby dictates policy in New Zealand: Philip Alpers

Book Review: Gun Running in Papua New Guinea: from arrows to assault weapons in the Southern Highlands, Philip Alpers

Small Firearms in the Pacific: Regionalism and Non-Trafficking

Could Australia learn from US approach to gun violence

New England Journal of Medicine 2021 Vol. 384 Issue 17 Pages 1581-1583, 2021

Australian Firearm Regulation at 25 - Successes, Ongoing Challenges, and Lessons for the World

The New England journal of medicine, 2021

Guns in family violence: legal weapons pose the greatest risk

There should be nothing surprising about these figures. Where comparable jurisdictions have studi... more There should be nothing surprising about these figures. Where comparable jurisdictions have studied the same relationship they report similar proportions. In New South Wales, 62% of firearms seized in domestic violence incidents are legally owned. In Canada, 78.3% of gunrelated domestic homicides were committed with firearms in the legal possession of licensed owners. Canada’s Department of Justice study prompted the Canadian Journal of Criminology to report:

If lawful firearm owners cause most gun deaths, what can we do?

Guns for the palace guard in Honiara: we should worry

Bringing guns back to the Solomons, Alpers argues, would reverse a life-saving regional trend beg... more Bringing guns back to the Solomons, Alpers argues, would reverse a life-saving regional trend begun in Bougainville, and seen most recently in East Timor, where the first Australian peacekeeping commander declared: \u27We will be disarming everybody in Dili\u27. Moreover, across 20 Pacific nations, and now in East Timor, the most destructive firearms used in crime and conflict were leaked from lawfully imported police, military and civilian holdings. It\u27s this diversion of lethal weapons from licit to illicit use that is the concern of police and peacekeepers around the world.&nbsp

Guns in family violence: legal weapons pose the greatest risk

Australia’s gun numbers climb: men who own several buy more than ever before

The proud claim of some Australians that their country has “solved the gun problem” might only be... more The proud claim of some Australians that their country has “solved the gun problem” might only be a temporary illusion. In recent years, arms dealers have imported more guns than ever before. And last year we crossed a symbolic threshold: for the first time in 20 years, Australia’s national arsenal of private guns is larger than it was before the Port Arthur massacre.

Contemporary Readings in Law and Social Justice, 2018

We reply to criticisms made by prominent anti-gun control researcher Gary Kleck of our widely rep... more We reply to criticisms made by prominent anti-gun control researcher Gary Kleck of our widely reported 2016 study on the impact of Australia’s historic 1996 gun law reforms on mass shootings and firearm-related deaths. Thirteen mass fatal shootings in 18 years were followed by 22 years with no such incidents, with the probability of this being a chance occurrence calculated at 1:200,000 against. We concentrate on Kleck’s efforts to repudiate our conclusions by redefining mass shootings; his argument that mass shooters do not maximise the lethal potential of their semi-automatic weapons and so could just as well use (legal) single shot firearms; and that when mass shooters move about in their shooting locations, such events are improperly classified as mass shootings, rather than “sprees.”

Australian Gun Laws

The Palgrave Handbook of Australian and New Zealand Criminology, Crime and Justice, 2017

For 65 years, Australian firearm legislation had altered very little, but all that changed dramat... more For 65 years, Australian firearm legislation had altered very little, but all that changed dramatically in 12 days in 1996. This chapter explains the how and why of the ‘perfect storm’ of horror, outrage, law, and leadership that forced policy reversal, and details the lightning legislative adjustments now held up as global good practice. In addition, and with 20 years of research and hindsight, the author describes the attitude adjustment which enabled effective enforcement of gun laws, and the notable improvements to public health and safety which followed, perhaps as a result.

Successful Public Policy: Lessons from Australia and New Zealand, 2019

Australian firearm policy had altered very little in 65 years prior to the 1990s. Events in April... more Australian firearm policy had altered very little in 65 years prior to the 1990s. Events in April 1996, however, precipitated 12 days that dramatically changed national firearm legislation. Thirty-five people were killed when a gunman opened fire at the Port Arthur Historic Site in the State of Tasmania. This chapter explores how these events created a 'perfect storm' of outrage, law and leadership that forced policy reform. It considers the political and constitutional challenges the national government faced and details the swift legislative changes implemented following the massacre. Using more than 20 years of research and data, this chapter describes the attitude adjustments that enabled effective enforcement of firearm legislation and the notable improvements to public health and safety that followed. Although these changes are widely credited with establishing the nation as a world leader in the prevention of armed violence, unintended consequences of Australia's gun control laws may contain the seed of their own destruction.

JAMA, Jan 22, 2016

Rapid-fire weapons are often used by perpetrators in mass shooting incidents. In 1996 Australia i... more Rapid-fire weapons are often used by perpetrators in mass shooting incidents. In 1996 Australia introduced major gun law reforms that included a ban on semiautomatic rifles and pump-action shotguns and rifles and also initiated a program for buyback of firearms. To determine whether enactment of the 1996 gun laws and buyback program were followed by changes in the incidence of mass firearm homicides and total firearm deaths. Observational study using Australian government statistics on deaths caused by firearms (1979-2013) and news reports of mass shootings in Australia (1979-May 2016). Changes in intentional firearm death rates were analyzed with negative binomial regression, and data on firearm-related mass killings were compared. Implementation of major national gun law reforms. Changes in mass fatal shooting incidents (defined as ≥5 victims, not including the perpetrator) and in trends of rates of total firearm deaths, firearm homicides and suicides, and total homicides and suic...

Annals of Internal Medicine, 2013

In New Zealand, 250,000 1 licensed shooters 2 own an estimated 1.1 million firearms, 3 enough for... more In New Zealand, 250,000 1 licensed shooters 2 own an estimated 1.1 million firearms, 3 enough for one in each occupied dwelling 4 and sufficient to outnumber the combined small-arms of the police 5 and armed forces 6 by a ratio of 30 to 1. We own 16 times as many guns per capita as the English and the Welsh, 7 60% more than the Australians 8 but less than half as many as the residents of the United States. 9 An additional 14,000 guns are imported to New Zealand in a typical year. 10 Each day an average of seven firearm offences involving danger to life are reported to the police, 11 while one in five homicides are committed with a firearm. 12 On average, one person dies by gunshot in New Zealand every four days. 13 Despite a common certainty that firearms are increasingly misused, there has been little local research. Although critical data on the misuse of firearms are collected by police, these are not made available. 14 Locking Up Guns: foiling thieves, children and the momentarily suicidal First printing:

Journal of Conventional Weapons Destruction, 2021

Recent developments in computerized record-keeping for state-owned arms, ammunition, and explosiv... more Recent developments in computerized record-keeping for state-owned arms, ammunition, and explosives now offer simple, affordable solutions in the lowest-capacity environments. A global partnership between Mines Advisory Group (MAG) and the developers of ArmsTracker soft-ware promises to break a twenty-year logjam that, until now, has denied comprehensive, affordable weapon and ammunition record-keeping systems to states in greatest need.

Georgetown Journal of International Affairs, 2018

The United States can, and inevitably will follow the same gun control principles as Australia. A... more The United States can, and inevitably will follow the same gun control principles as Australia. Americans already possess the tools needed to do what they've always done – to lead the world in tackling urgent epidemics with proven, evidence-based public health measures. But as in the early days of HIV/AIDS, the first barrier is ideology. This article proposes the most obvious and proven solutions to America's epidemic of armed violence, some of which are bound to be adopted, but not anytime soon.

Of all Australia’s public health initiatives, our gun control laws are perhaps the most widely re... more Of all Australia’s public health initiatives, our gun control laws are perhaps the most widely recognised and cited with pride. Yet they also contain the seed of their own destruction.

Former prime minister John Howard's post-Port Arthur National Firearms Agreement brought with it an unintended public safety consequence loaded with irony. State laws now guarantee a multi-million-dollar annual income stream to Australia's pro-gun lobby, the Sporting Shooters’ Association of Australia (SSAA).

Because it is inconceivable that the people of such an advanced nation will tolerate an ever-wors... more Because it is inconceivable that the people of such an advanced nation will tolerate an ever-worsening state of armed violence and insurrection, there must come a time when proven public health solutions already tested and championed by the United States are deployed to reduce the country's toll of 33,000 firearm-related deaths each year.

Policy Forum

Australia is often held up as an example in US gun control debates, but the country might learn m... more Australia is often held up as an example in US gun control debates, but the country might learn more from a close look at Pacific Island nations.

Washington Post

America has lost control of its gun infestation and plague of armed violence. Similar countries h... more America has lost control of its gun infestation and plague of armed violence. Similar countries have shown how to save lives by curbing the availability of firearms. Now the world leader in public health interventions has little option but to bite the bullet and curb gun deaths by following the evidence.

The Conversation, Oct 7, 2015

In many, perhaps even most gun deaths from all causes in America, Europe and Australia, a lawful ... more In many, perhaps even most gun deaths from all causes in America, Europe and Australia, a lawful gun owner pulled the trigger on a legal firearm. In mass shootings, in gun homicide and particularly in much more common gun deaths, the killer is frequently, until that moment a law-abiding firearm owner pulling the trigger on a lawfully held gun.

The Conversation, Feb 26, 2015

By consensus one sprawling region has largely avoided, and at times even reversed, the steady pro... more By consensus one sprawling region has largely avoided, and at times even reversed, the steady proliferation of illegal firearms and death by gunshot.

Pretoria News, The Star (Johannesburg), The Mercury (Durban), Nov 14, 2014

Every illegal, factory-made firearm started out legally owned. Several democracies have shown tha... more Every illegal, factory-made firearm started out legally owned. Several democracies have shown that after significantly reducing national gun ownership, firearm homicides go into decline.

Australia and the United States share many characteristics. Both are English-speaking democracies... more Australia and the United States share many characteristics. Both are English-speaking democracies of multicultural immigrants. The two nations have been allies for nearly a century. Australians and Americans consume similar diets of movies, video games, popular music, recreational drugs, and alcohol. Both have vast interiors, early histories of armed European settlers mistreating native populations, plenty of feral pests to shoot, and many firearm enthusiasts.

Yet the 2 countries differ dramatically on the issue of gun violence. The U.S. population is 13.7 times larger than that of Australia, but it has 134 times the number of total firearm-related deaths (31 672 vs. 236 in 2010) and 27 times the rate of firearm homicide (11 078 [3.6 per 100 000] vs. 30 [0.13 per 100 000] in 2010) (1).

CNN International, Dec 17, 2012

Could the leader of a democracy reverse his nation’s slide toward the ever more permissive use of... more Could the leader of a democracy reverse his nation’s slide toward the ever more permissive use of firearms and mandate stringent new gun control laws in less than a fortnight? Well, yes. One of America’s loyal allies did just that, and with massive voter support

Public health professionals are ideally placed to act as lynchpins for firearm related policy swi... more Public health professionals are ideally placed to act as lynchpins for firearm related policy swings in their own countries.

When guns are discussed and regulated matter-of-factly as vectors of injury, ideological barriers can be moved aside, much as they were in the prevention of HIV/AIDS.

Mental Health Quarterly, Jun 1996

In a survey of gun-related homicides in Australia and New Zealand in the past ten years, 73% of t... more In a survey of gun-related homicides in Australia and New Zealand in the past ten years, 73% of the killers had no previous history of mental illness: 87%of the killers had no previous history of violent crime; two-thirds of the killers were licensed gun owners and 64% of victims died in a shooting where a military-style semi-automatic rifle was used. The survey was based on police files and coroners' records and involves 14 mass shootings, including the Port Arthur killings, in which 124 people died by gunfire.

Austral Policy Forum, Oct 19, 2006

In Pacific Islands Forum countries, “civilians alone hold 3.1 million firearms, or one gun for every ten people”, writes Alpers. “After disastrous leakages of government guns in Fiji, the Solomon Islands and Papua New Guinea, Australia led the charge to help island nations lock up their small arms, building secure state armouries across the region. But of late, regional implementation of the UN PoA has lagged.”

"Results: Most victims were killed by a licensed gun-owner, while 62.5% (and ten out of eleven fe... more "Results: Most victims were killed by a licensed gun-owner, while 62.5% (and ten out of eleven female victims) were killed with a legal firearm from the collection of a licensed gun-owner. Almost all victims (95%) were killed by a familiar person. Half were shot by their partner, an estranged partner or a member of their own family. Of all the dead, 63% were shot during family violence, 91% of these with a legal firearm. Of the perpetrators, 82% had no predictive history of violent crime, while none had a history of mental illness.
Conclusion: These results contradict the suggestion that efforts to reduce firearm violence should be directed only at “criminals and the mentally ill”, rather than “law-abiding gun-owners”.

La Recolección de Armas más Grande del Mundo Los Programas de Recolección de Armas de Fuego en Australia mediante su Compra, Dec 5, 2006

There is very little evidence world-wide that small, isolated and under-resourced gun buybacks an... more There is very little evidence world-wide that small, isolated and under-resourced gun buybacks and amnesties have succeeded in reducing gun death and injury.

But to reduce the risk of Argentineans being shot, the evidence does suggest that a comprehensive, well-resourced, national firearm buyback is likely to be a solid first step toward improving public health, and public security.

Around the world, handgun registration and owner-licensing are acknowledged as the most effective... more Around the world, handgun registration and owner-licensing are acknowledged as the most effective way to minimise handgun-related death and trauma. In almost every democracy, police see handgun registration as an essential crime-busting tool which puts
criminals behind bars every day.

There’s nothing new in this. For more than sixty years, registration and owner licensing have been the accepted norm in two of the most established fields of crime and injury prevention – road safety and gun safety. In both of these, two parallel systems of accountability – that is, licensing the owner, and then registering the gun or the automobile – are closely linked and interdependent. It’s the experience of many countries that neither measure works well without the other.

Guns in Family Violence: Legal Weapons Pose the Greatest Risk, Nov 14, 1995

NZ Police files show that, in all the firearm-related homicides in this country in the three year... more NZ Police files show that, in all the firearm-related homicides in this country in the three years 1992-94:

- Of all the dead, 63% were shot during family violence, 91% of these with a legal firearm
- Almost all victims of firearm homicide (95%) were shot by a familiar person
- Nearly two-thirds of firearm homicide victims (and ten out of eleven female victims) were killed with a legal firearm from the collection of a licensed gun-owner
- Most firearm homicide victims were killed by a licensed gun-owner

In addition, a parallel study showed that half the perpetrators involved in non-fatal misuse of firearms during domestic disputes were licensed gun-owners."