Australia gun amnesty collects 51,000 illegal weapons
A rocket launcher, a homemade machine gun and a mini-pistol are all surrendered to authorities during the three-month amnesty.
Friday 6 October 2017 14:42, UK
A three-month amnesty in Australia has seen more than 51,000 banned guns surrendered to authorities.
A homemade machine gun, a rocket launcher and a mini-pistol were among the weapons handed in. They will now all be destroyed.
Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull has said that maintaining strict gun laws is key to preventing a Las Vegas-style mass shooting in the country.
"We've seen the shocking tragedy in Las Vegas," he said.
"This killer there had a collection of semi-automatic weapons, which a person in his position would simply not be able to acquire in Australia."
Stephen Paddock killed 58 people and injured about 500 after opening fire on an outdoor country music festival in the deadliest mass shooting in recent American history.
The massacre has reignited the debate over America's gun laws.
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Semi-automatic rifles and guns were outlawed in Australia in 1996 after the Port Arthur massacre - the country's deadliest mass shooting.
Thirty-five people were killed and 23 wounded when lone wolf Martin Bryant, 28, opened fire at a former convict colony in southeastern Tasmania.
The shooting reshaped Australia's gun laws, and no mass shootings have occurred in the country since the ban.
Mr Turnbull said the recent amnesty - which was the first since the Port Arthur massacre - is part of a "relentless focus on keeping Australians safe".
The Australian government said it launched the amnesty due to the increased threat of terrorism and a flood of illegal guns into the country.