The controversy over whether or not the National Rifle Association used misleading crime statistics in an advertisement decrying Australia's restrictive gun laws has largely been settled by figures provided by the Australian government itself.

It appears the government officials in the island continent who charged the NRA with distorting the country's crime figures for political gain owe the gun-rights group an apology.

The government has based its refutation of the NRA ads -- which say crime has increased Down Under since Australia's major gun ban took effect in 1996 -- mainly on the drop in the murder rate. According to the Australian Bureau of Statistics website, murders have fallen from 312 in 1996 to 284 murders in 1998, after experiencing a slight increase in 1997, from 312 to 321.

However, almost every other form of crime in Australia has increased, sometimes dramatically, in the same time period:

For instance, since the introduction of Australia's sweeping gun bans, armed robberies rose a whopping 70 percent, from 6,256 in 1996 to 10,850 just two years later.

Unarmed robberies also rose by about 20 percent, from just over 10,100 to nearly 13,000 incidents.

In addition:

• Attempted murders rose from 335 in 1996 to 382 in 1998

• Manslaughter rose from 38 to 49

• Assaults were up from 114,156 to 132,967

• Sexual assaults rose slightly, from 14,542 to 14,568

• Kidnapping and abductions climbed dramatically, from 480 in 1996 to 662 in 1998

Some other highlights from the 1998 Australian government crime statistics report:

• Blackmail and extortion went from 268 cases a year to 298

• "Unlawful entry with intent (breaking into a home or business) involving the taking of property" rose by 30,000 cases, from 313,902 shortly after the ban was passed to 343,256 cases in 1998

• Other "unlawful entry" cases increased during the two-year period from 88,177 to 92,414

• "Motor vehicle theft" increased by 8,658 reported cases, and "other theft" rose to 565,214 from 521,762

On Friday, the Sydney Morning Herald said Australian Prime Minister John Howard, who helped usher in the country's restrictive gun laws, leapt into the fray against the NRA, calling the gun rights group's advertisement a collection of "lies" and "distortions."

"I think it disturbs me in the sense that it is beyond belief that an organization can get it so wrong," Howard said.

Howard added that "Australia introduced tough gun laws after the Port Arthur massacre because it did not want to end up with a gun culture like the U.S.," said the Herald, which also quoted the prime minister as saying that the "appalling" U.S. homicide rate was because America is "awash in guns."

"The NRA said wrongly that armed robbery in Australia had risen 69 per cent, assaults involving guns were up 28 per cent, gun murders 19 per cent and home invasions 21 per cent," the paper said.

The Australian Bureau of Statistics site was last updated on Jan. 1, 2000, according to a notice posted there.

According to the bureau, crimes involving firearms fell between 1997 and 1998, but critics have said that is meaningless when compared to the overall increases in violent crime, noting that the overall increases might in fact be due to the lack of availability of firearms for protection.

Larry Pratt, executive director of Gun Owners of America, pointedly said it was "apparent" that many Australians were "obviously more at risk" since the gun ban took effect.

Brian Puckett, founder of Citizens of America, agreed, and said Australian officials were "fooling themselves if they think this ban is going to be good for their people in the long run."

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