While gun owners are being urged to surrender high-powered firearms to the police, public confidence in the gun control process has been badly shaken by revelations that Victoria police sold off similar weapons collected during a previous amnesty. Assistant Commissioner of Police Graham Sinclair admitted officers sold 10 Uzi sub-machineguns, 17 AR-15 rifles and 29 other weapons to the Granite Arms Company, a Victorian gun dealership, in November 1994. Although the firearms had been handed in after being declared illegal, a loophole in regulations - which did not specify impounded weapons had to be destroyed - meant their sale was permissible. Police said Granite had offered to sell the weapons overseas. But this was not a formal condition and officers now admit they could have been resold in Australia. An embarrassed Mr Sinclair confessed authorities had 'no idea' of the present whereabouts of the weapons. It has subsequently emerged that police failed to keep a list of the serial numbers. The fact that AR-15 rifles were among the weapons is particularly sensitive, as a similar gun was used in April's Port Arthur massacre. The sale has been criticised by both politicians and the gun lobby. Leading pro-gun activist Ted Drane said the public would be 'much safer' if gun owners simply hung on to their weapons rather than trusting them to the police. Victorian Premier Jeff Kennett said he had ordered an immediate review to ensure that 'any weapon surrendered in this state will be on a one-way ticket to meltdown'.
