The latest findings from the Small Arms Survey show that Australia is about the sixth biggest importer of weapons in the world, including rifles, revolvers, pistols and ammunition.

Key points
·       A public health researcher at the University of Sydney said, Australia had ranked "surprisingly high" on the list of countries, coming in between sixth or eighth in the world depending on the year.

·       Australia is a high user of firearms, we have a lot of the indicators: we're an agricultural society, we have high disposable income, we have a very robust sporting and shooting.

Firearms destroyed post Port Arthur have been replaced
·       The number of weapons being bought in Australia had been climbing since the Port Arthur massacre.

·       We've now got to the point where we've replaced, more than replaced, the million guns that were destroyed [post Port Arthur]

·       Since 1998 there had been a gradual climb back, with roughly 120,000 firearms now imported per year into Australia.

Arms industry is resurging
·       People who were importing the weapons were arms dealers.

·       They're the people who know they can make a profit out of guns. This industry is resurging; it's becoming much more profitable than it used to be.

·       They're finding more and more innovative ways of bringing guns into the country, too — for example, the Adler shot gun, and a new one which emerged this week. And that's a way of filling a niche of gun enthusiasts who really want a rapid fire weapon.·       And they found a loophole in the law which allows them to bring in a limited number of these guns.

Orlando killer used 'weapon of choice'
·       One of the weapons used in the Orlando massacre was an AR15 semiautomatic.  It was the weapon of choice for the killer at Port Arthur and for most mass killers in the United States.