Matthew Canavan (Queensland, Liberal National Party, Minister for Resources and Northern Australia) Share this | Hansard source

I thank the senator for his question. I support the government's position on the National Firearms Agreement. I support that agreement and what it has been able to achieve in this country over 20 years. It is an agreement that is the envy of the world, and something that on this side of politics we are particularly proud of, given we put it in place. I support the government's position on it.

In our party here, the Nationals party, we also support responsible gun ownership among the more than 800,000 Australians who own at least one gun. We are proud of that support and we are proud of the support for the laws that we have in place to ensure that ownership is made in a responsible way and people can enjoy the benefits of gun ownership for both environmental and recreational, and other, uses. While, as I have said, I support the government's positions on these issues, I also would like to take this opportunity to say how proud I am as a member of the Nationals in this place of my colleagues who stand up and support the interests of gun owners in this country, who stand up and support the constituents that they represent.

I know it is a concept that is sometimes difficult for the Labor Party to understand or for other parties to understand, but we do support the rights of individual senators in this place to express their views, to have independent thoughts and to ensure that they are supporting the interests of their constituents. I am very proud of the way that the members of the Nationals here do that. That is why we have lasted for nearly 100 years. It is a very proud moment for me to stand with my colleagues on all of those issues that are important to our constituents.