Why Jacinta Allan broke with the PM and the police on gun control

May 28, 2026 — 5:00am

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Victoria’s decision this week to not impose a cap on firearms is a story of orange shirts, ducks and people who enjoy four-wheel driving at the weekend.

Premier Jacinta Allan’s rejection of the limit on gun ownership has put her in the awkward position of differing from Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, the royal commission into antisemitism, Victoria Police and the recommendation of her own review.

For a government whose public positions are rarely more than a cigarette paper away from the cops, this is a very deliberate choice, and it tells a story about Allan’s risk-averse personality and the November state election.

In his state government-commissioned review released on Monday, former police chief commissioner Ken Lay said there was not enough evidence either way to indicate whether number limits on personal gun ownership would reduce harm.

But he recommended a limit of four, arguing the link between fewer guns and fewer gun-related injuries was strong enough to justify that caps be introduced so long as there was a review of its effectiveness in the first five years.

The essential calculation Lay makes is that the opportunity of introducing the cap, and the evidence it generates, outweighs the risks. From a pure policy perspective, this makes sense.

But, unlike Allan, Lay is not a politician and is not assessing the public fallout of such a move.

The premier says she’s not convinced any cap is necessary. She says her focus is on keeping criminals away from guns and........

© The Age