Bill Shorten (Maribyrnong, Australian Labor Party, Leader of the Opposition) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to the Prime Minister. Today it is reported that the Deputy Prime Minister supports the New South Wales Deputy Premier taking a proposal to the New South Wales cabinet to allow the importation of the Adler of gun. Is the position of the Deputy Prime Minister the position of the government? And is that position consistent with the advice or recommendations of the Australian Federal Police?

Malcolm Turnbull (Wentworth, Liberal Party, Prime Minister) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I thank the honourable member for his question. Can I refer the honourable member to the statement issued this morning by the New South Wales police minister, Troy Grant, who might say is a former police officer and, indeed, a decorate one. The minister noted that he was supporting the Commonwealth ban on imported lever-action shotguns with a capacity of more than five rounds until the gun is reclassified. He said: 'The New South Wales government supports the strengthening of classification of the Adler A110 shotgun from its current A category to a tighter one.' 'Our position,' the minister said, 'represents a strengthening of the current A classification of the Adler, but the ultimate decision is a matter for national consensus.' The position of the Commonwealth, based on the advice we have received from our Federal Police and other security advisers is that the classification for the lever-action shotgun should—indeed, as Mr Grant has noted there—be tightened. Currently—and this has been the case since 1996—lever-action shotguns are classified as A, and the consideration that is being given by the justice or police ministers is how it should be increased. The concern has particularly been for the shotguns with a magazine capacity of more than five rounds. That is the class of shotgun that has been banned from importation since last year.

It is the state and territory ministers' legislation that regulates these guns. It is very important to recognise this. The Commonwealth obviously controls importation, but the regulation, the categorisation, the licensing of firearms is a matter for state and territory jurisdictions. So we are encouraging the states to come to a consensus which will see a reclassification, with an appropriately tighter classification, on those lever-action weapons. Of course, once that consensus is reached and the reclassification is fully implemented then, consistent with the arrangements described on several occasions, as this ban has now gone through three iterations, the ban would be lifted and the import arrangements would then be consistent with the reclassification. That is our commitment: keeping Australians safe; ensuring that we hold the ring; keeping those guns out of the country until the appropriate reclassification by the state and territory police ministers is agreed to.