NSW Police Minister Troy Grant has been captured by the ugly minority gun lobby in the NSW National Party and is seeking to impose a US style approach to gun control by lifting the ban on the Adler A110 lever action shotgun.
Troy Grant’s unseemly intervention in the gun debate is the first time in more than 20 years that a NSW Police Minister has actively sought to undermine the National Firearms Agreement.
Premier Mike Baird and Malcolm Turnbull must urgently intervene to put community safety ahead of gun politics and maintain the ban on the importation of the Adler.
Greens NSW Senator and Gun Control Spokesperson Lee Rhiannon said:
“Prime Minister Turnbull seems so desperate to pass his anti-worker union busting bill that he is prepared to barter away our stringent gun laws.
“It is time to strengthen the National Firearm Agreement, not water it down.
“It will be a new low for the Turnbull government if it weakens our gun laws, compromising public safety, in order to push through a bill which will make workplaces less safe.
“This Adler shotgun import ban is in place on the best advice of state, territory and federal law enforcement agencies and it is absolutely vital that that ban stays in place.
“We cannot ‘modernise’ the National Firearm Agreement and leave the door open for the import of the Adler. The purpose of John Howard’s agreement was to limit access to rapid fire firearms in the interest of public safety, and that is what the Prime Minister must commit to doing.” Senator Rhiannon said.
Greens MP and Justice Spokesperson David Shoebridge said:
“The NSW Police Minister has bowed to the gun lobby and is actively undermining the National Firearms Agreement with his calls to lift the importation ban on the Adler A110 lever action shotgun.
“After his defeat on greyhounds he is so scared of the right of his party that he is willing to sacrifice public safety on gun control.
“The Adler A110 can fire 8 shots in 8 seconds, easily qualifying it as the kind of rapid fire weapon the National Firearms Agreement was put in place to control after the Port Arthur Massacre.
“In the absence of any consensus between state and territory Ministers, there must be a ban on the importation and sale of dangerous rapid fire shot guns.
“The Police Minister needs to put up or shut up and table all the advice he has received from the NSW Police about the safety ramifications and effects of importing the Adler shotgun.” Mr Shoebridge said.