David Feeney (Batman, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Minister for Justice) Share this | Hansard source

Having set out those important principles that motivate Labor in this debate, I do entirely recognise that that leaves scope for the legitimate presence of firearms in our community. But that legitimate presence is confined to issues such as sporting, recreation and, of course, the need for some people in some occupations to have guns as a part of their working life, farmers being a typical example, although there are others. It is from that prism, from that public policy proposition, that Labor approaches this conversation.

The Customs (Prohibited Imports) Regulations 1956, the principal regulations, impose import controls for various items including firearms and firearms related articles. The amending regulation amends the principal regulations as they relate to the importation of lever action shotguns with a magazine capacity of more than five rounds. Issues relating to the prevention, detection and prosecution of crime are for the most part the responsibility of state and territory governments. The various categories of firearms were agreed by all Australian jurisdictions some time ago at a special meeting of the Australasian Police Ministers' Council in May 1996. That gave rise to the 1996 national firearms agreement. The categories are reflected in both the Commonwealth legislation that regulates firearms imports and state and territory legislation that regulates licensing, such as the Firearms Act 1996 in my own state of Victoria.

To import a firearm, a person must have a firearm licence, obtained through the relevant state or territory registry, and permission to import the firearm, obtained from the Commonwealth Attorney-General's Department in some cases and the state or territory registry in others. Any changes to the categories would need to be approved by all jurisdictions through the Law, Crime and Community Safety Council.

The technical elements of the national firearms agreement are currently being reviewed, with a view to being updated as recommended by the Martin Place siege review. As part of this, the appropriate classification of lever action shotguns, particularly those with a magazine capacity of more than five rounds, is being considered. In order to ensure any update of the NFA in this regard is not undermined by having a large number of lever action shotguns with a magazine capacity of more than five rounds imported into Australia in the time taken to finalise the review, a temporary prohibition on the importation of those firearms is being put in place, and I would humbly submit that is mere common sense. This is an interim measure until the review and the update of the NFA are completed. This process will ensure there will be fewer individuals licensed to possess these firearms who will be affected should the update to the NFA result in a change in the categorisations of such firearms—again, mere common sense. The update of the NFA is expected to be finalised in early 2016.

The purpose of the amending regulation is therefore to amend the principal regulations to prohibit the importation of lever action shotguns fitted with a firearm magazine capacity of more than five rounds. In order to ensure that the prohibition on the importation of lever action shotguns with a magazine capacity of greater than five rounds cannot be avoided by importing the magazines separately, the amending regulation also prohibits the importation of magazines with a capacity of greater than five rounds for lever action shotguns. Labor believes that, as gun technology is updated, it is entirely appropriate that our laws are reviewed from time to time to ensure that they keep up with the advances in technology and that they do not become outdated. We will carefully consider the outcomes of the national firearms agreement review when they are released.

Further to the measures in this regulation which will prevent the importation of the Adler A110 lever action shotgun with a magazine capacity of seven rounds, Labor believe that the government must also act to prevent other powerful weapons entering the Australian market while this review is being completed. We are extremely concerned by reports that a modified version of the Adler shotgun may now be imported into Australia. Under the current national firearms agreement, lever action shotguns with a magazine capacity of five rounds or fewer are category A, and that means they are available to Australia's 700,000 licensed recreational shooters—I might say recreational shooters, not a militia ready to spring to the defence of our democracy at the behest of the member for Kennedy. Gun critics have said that the Adler A110, which can shoot multiple rounds in rapid succession, is faster and more powerful than other models of firearms. Given that the appropriate classification of lever action shotguns is currently under review, we should not be seeing more of these weapons enter Australia. The Victorian police minister, Wade Noonan, said that they would argue the weapon should have the same restrictions as a semiautomatic firearm. He said:

I have spoken to the Acting Chief Commissioner Tim Cartwright about this matter. He has raised his concerns that this weapon — and others like it — are no longer appropriate for a category A classification. I share his concerns.

Can I stress that this is an interim measure until the review and the update of the NFA is complete. Labor appreciate that the overwhelming majority of firearm owners comply with the relevant legislation and we acknowledge the work of the various firearms organisations who promote the safe use and safe storage of firearms. Labor also recognise that a very significant number of Australians participate in the sport of shooting. However, until the national firearms agreement review is completed, this shotgun should not be allowed into the Australian market, modified or otherwise. Given the events of the past week domestically and abroad, now is not the time to erode or undermine John Howard's tough gun laws, which are respected around the world.

Under Tony Abbott the Liberal Party was happy to put political expediency ahead of community safety concerns. Malcolm Turnbull can now put safety before politics. He should show leadership where Tony Abbott did not and immediately have this modified version of the shotgun banned until the national firearms agreement review is complete. The Liberal government must immediately act to prevent these high-powered weapons from being imported into Australia in the absence of such a thorough review. On that basis, Labor will be opposing the motion for disallowance.

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