Deborah O'Neill (NSW, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

From the outset, I want to say very clearly that the opposition fundamentally rejects Senator Leyonhjelm's position on gun control. Therefore, we do not support his motion to disallow Customs (Prohibited Imports) Amendment (Shotguns and Shotgun Magazines) Regulation 2016. This is in the context of the lived history of Australians. In the aftermath of the Port Arthur shootings in 1996, a cross-party understanding was reached on restricting ownership of firearms in Australia. It was not a partisan matter then, nor should it be now.

Labor accepts that the Howard government's initiative in removing rapid-fire weapons from circulation was necessary for community safety. The decline in gun related deaths in this country speaks for itself. It is idle to object, as gun advocates like to do, by saying that deaths have not fallen in each year since 1996. They have fallen overall. As Ms Lesley Podesta, the CEO of the Alannah & Madeline Foundation, has pointed out, in the decade before Port Arthur there were 11 mass shootings in Australia—more than one a year. In the decades since Port Arthur, there have been none. It is undeniable that the gun buyback scheme and the introduction of tougher gun laws have made this country a safer place in which to live. I acknowledge that there are those in the chamber who hold a very different view, but that is the view held by very many Australians, and I am glad to put it on the record this evening. The number of guns in Australia was reduced by one fifth and the number of households with guns dropped by a half. There has been a decline in homicides by gun and a dramatic drop in suicides by gun. According to data published in the American Law and Economics Review in 2010, an estimated 200 lives a year were saved by the changes in Australia's gun control regime.

The core principle of that regime was that rapid-fire weapons should be subject to the greatest restrictions. Some argue that shotguns, including the lever-action shotgun that is prohibited under the important regulations that Senator Leyonhjelm wants to disallow, should be treated differently. That is an evasive quibble. What matters is that we are talking about a rapid-fire weapon with a large magazine capacity. The international version of the Adler shotgun under discussion here this evening has a magazine capacity of seven rounds, with another in the chamber—in other words, it can fire up to eight shots in quick succession. It can easily be modified to hold up to 11 rounds.

The Adler is now listed as a category A firearm—the least restrictive category and the easiest to buy. Category A licences are held by recreational shooters and are notionally limit ownership to guns with the lowest rate of fire, such as bolt-action rifles and shotguns that can hold only two cartridges. Pump-action shotguns, because of their higher magazine capacity and relatively higher rate of fire, are normally classified as category C or D, the kinds of licences held by farmers and professional shooters. It is anomalous that the Adler is in category A. It happened because, when the Howard government toughened up the gun laws under the National Firearms Agreement in 1995, lever-action shotguns were not considered worthy of attention, unlike pump-action shotguns. The Adler shotgun was popularised by Robert Nioa, the son-in-law of the member for Kennedy. He tried to import thousands of Turkish-made seven-shot Adlers, but when a temporary ban was implemented, they were modified by regulation to become five-shot weapons.

Senator Leyonhjelm would like to overturn this restriction. For Senator Leyonhjelm this is a matter of libertarian principle, a principle whose pursuit he is prepared to trade with his vote. The tragedy is that the Liberals in government have been prepared to accommodate Senator Leyonhjelm in regard to this matter.

Labor recognises that the vast majority of firearm owners in Australia comply with the law, and we acknowledge the work that their associations have done in promoting safe storage and responsible use of firearms. But the law must also concern itself with the minority who might not act responsibly. Gun technology will evolve, and it is appropriate that firearms legislation be reviewed from time to time. When the review of the National Firearms Agreement is complete, Labor will give careful consideration to any recommendations that are made. But we see no reason why the prohibition of the import of this particular type of shotgun should be disallowed. On the contrary, prohibiting the import of this lever-action shotgun is consistent with the intent of the changes in federal and state laws since the horrific shooting at Port Arthur.

Senator Leyonhjelm may rage against what he sees as the government's refusal to honour a deal on making the import ban subject to a sunset clause. He is a libertarian; let him rage. Extending the import ban is a sensible decision in the interests of community safety. It is spurious to argue that this is a case of the nanny state overriding the rights of individuals to arm themselves. For Labor, the practical work of saving lives and preventing violence will never be sacrificed to libertarian ideological purity. Saving lives will never be sacrificed to Liberal political expediency.

Until recently, Australians had reason to believe that the government would maintain bipartisanship on this matter. Who would have expected the current lot of Liberals to trash John Howard's legacy; but that is exactly what they have done with a succession of dirty deals and backflips on this issue. In August 2015, the government banned the Adler A110. Five days later, touting for votes against Labor's amendments to a migration bill, the Minister for Justice and the Minister for Immigration and Border Protection cut a deal with Senator Leyonhjelm. I want to reflect on the language used by Senator Leyonhjelm in his opening comments today. Senator Leyonhjelm, I understand completely your sense that there has been an abuse of the trust that you have displayed in your own dealings with the government, when you said that you voted with the government in line with your agreement. You would not have voted that way, you declared. It was about a bill that you said was a matter of no consequence. I think they were your exact words—'a matter of no consequence'.

I would not call a matter entitled the Migration Amendment (Strengthening Biometrics Integrity) Bill 2015 a matter of no consequence. In fact, it is a piece of legislation that is of great consequence and has significant impact on Australians. The government practises, as you clearly said, in dirty dealing. 'Dirty dealing' is how you described it, Senator Leyonhjelm, and I think that in that regard you absolutely hit the nail on the head. It is certainly palpable that you are very, very disappointed. But that is the style of governing and the style of communication—the contemptuous style of government—which you saw firsthand in the last parliament and now seems to have been replicated by Mr Turnbull, who has traded in his leather jacket and decided to wear Tony Abbott's suit and try the same sort of technologies.

Five days after touting for votes against Labor's amendments to a migration bill, the Minister for Justice and the Minister for Immigration and Border Protection cut a deal with Senator Leyonhjelm. They agreed to restrict the Adler ban by means of a sunset clause, which would have lifted the ban in August this year. But as that date approached the government was embarrassed by the prospect of having to explain to the Australian people why they were willing to allow these weapons into the country. So they buckled, and repudiated their dirty deal with Senator Leyonhjelm. More recently, there have been rumours of yet another backflip on gun safety. The Prime Minister was said to be considering watering down Australian gun laws in the hope of persuading the crossbench in the Senate to wave through his anti-union legislation. Let's face it: if it worked once, why wouldn't he try it again? It worked for Tony Abbott; so, flattering Tony Abbott, I suppose Mr Turnbull thought that he should have a go and see if it would help him get some tricky legislation through, too.

What we have seen with this Adler shotgun saga has shown that the government cannot be trusted on gun safety. Senator McKenzie, the member for Parkes, who I note is in the chamber, and the member for Moore, are all calling for this gun to be allowed in this country. These events have also shown—