Port Arthur 25th massacre anniversary: John Howard warns agains any erosion in gun laws

The former Australian prime minister John Howard has warned it is “up to current and future governments to ensure there is no erosion” in gun laws as the nation marks the 25th anniversary of the Port Arthur massacre.

Howard came to power in March 1996, just weeks before a gunman killed 35 people and wounded 23 in the worst mass shooting in Australia’s history.

The shooting prompted significant gun reform under the 1996 national firearms agreement, which banned rapid-fire guns from civilian ownership except under certain, restricted licences.

It also tightened requirements for firearm licensing, registration and safe storage, and established a government buyback of semi-automatic and pump-action rifles and shotguns.

More than 650,000 weapons were destroyed. By some estimates, the move almost halved the number of gun-owning households.

Howard said although he had been counselled about the political risk of a crackdown on firearms, he thought he should use his “huge majority” and his political capital for a “good cause”.

“I thought if I couldn’t do something I wasn’t up to the job … I thought the country should be given a greater assurance of safety – we deserved better,” Howard said.

“If the political system couldn’t rise to the occasion, then something was wrong. But it did, I had bipartisan support from [Labor leader] Kim Beazley, and we got states together [to pass stricter gun laws].”

Howard acknowledged that stricter gun laws were tough for the Coalition partner, the National party, and he thanked its leaders Tim Fischer and John Anderson for the support they gave him.

While support for One Nation and the Shooters party rose at the expense of the National party, Howard said this was for “broader political reasons”.

Given the growth in the vote and lobbying efforts of people who resent the laws, Howard said those efforts should be resisted, and it is “up to current and future governments to ensure there is no erosion” in the laws.

“We’ve secured a safer community, we mustn’t do anything to unpick that.”

Scott Morrison paid tribute to the strength and resilience of the Tasmanian community on the anniversary.

“We remember and send our love to all those who still bear the scars of that terrible day,” the prime minister said.

“The families and friends of those who died, the injured, the survivors, the first responders and all those who witnessed and were impacted by the unspeakable horror of that day.

“We pay tribute to the strength, resilience and courage of the local Tasmanian community and to all those who could never forget but still found a way to heal.”

A small commemoration service will be held at the Tasman Peninsula’s historical site on Wednesday afternoon to remember those lost.

Tasmania’s premier, Peter Gutwein, said those who bore the emotional and physical toll would never be forgotten.

Tasman council’s mayor, Kelly Spaulding, said: “It’s still quite raw with a lot of people in the community. And certainly with myself, it deeply affects me.

“[As with] any tragedy in anybody’s life, it doesn’t get any easier necessarily, you just learn to cope with it.”