“Changing firearm laws will not stop terrorist attacks,” NSW Nationals leader Gurmesh Singh said.
Federal Nationals leader David Littleproud praised the NSW Nationals and said Albanese’s gun reforms targeted law-abiding gun owners, arguing the prime minister was covering his reluctance to recall parliament and pass laws to crack down on antisemitism and “Islamic extremism”.
Former Nationals leader and Riverina MP Michael McCormack also said gun reform was a distraction.
“I am really worried that what we are going to now see is farmers and recreational shooters … being unfairly burdened with new, onerous laws that do nothing to address the real problem, and that is radical Islam,” McCormack said. “I think country people, as always, are just being made to wear the blame.”
But rural independent MP Helen Haines, who represents Indi in Victoria, where Dezi Freeman is accused of killing two police officers in August, said tighter firearm controls are needed. However, she cautioned the government, saying it must reassure the community that it would not restrict legitimate uses of the weapons.
Member for Indi Helen Haines says sensible gun law changes should be made, but was also hearing from her constituents that people needed guns to do their jobs.Credit: Alex Ellinghausen
“[Freeman’s] gun license had been revoked, but he still had firearms in his possession and we saw where that went. There is a problem that we need to address,” she said.
Primary producers with certain livestock operations, like feedlots, are required to use guns to euthanise cattle for animal welfare, and licensed pest controllers may own a range of weapons for shooting different species like deer, pigs, horses or goats.
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“I am receiving hundreds of emails from rural people who are concerned about their capacity to use guns as a tool of trade,” Haines said.
National Farmers’ Federation president Hamish McIntyre told this masthead he would take a “very sensible” approach to working with the government on gun reform, which would benefit everyone, including those in rural and regional communities.
McIntyre said the federation wanted to ensure governments undertake proper consultation.
“We all want to make sure that the whole community feels more comfortable and safer,” he said. “We’re very ready to be involved in any sensible dialogue. We don’t want to get caught up in politics.”
A Resolve Political Monitor poll conducted in the days after the Bondi attack found that three-quarters of Australians believed laws had to be strengthened, while 10 per cent were satisfied with current arrangements.
NSW parliament has enacted the first legal changes since the Bondi tragedy, after legislation was passed in the NSW upper house early on Wednesday morning. People will have restrictions placed on the number of guns they can own, up to a maximum of four, with exceptions for farmers and sports shooters who would be limited to 10.
The NSW Farmers Association reacted angrily to the state reform, arguing the cap of 10 firearms for farmers could force those who have more than one property to transport guns between farms. They argued that this would create “dangerous consequences” and labelled a reduction in the licence renewal period from five years to two as “ridiculous” red tape.
Gun reform has been a contentious issue for previous state Labor governments. Before the NSW state election in 1988, the then-Labor government of Barrie Unsworth sought to tighten gun laws in response to the Hoddle Street and Queen Street mass shootings in Melbourne the previous year.
The laws included annual registration of firearms, a ban on semi-automatic weapons and restrictions on who could own a weapon. Labor, already facing electoral problems, suffered huge swings of up to 20 per cent against it in regional seats, including in the Hunter Valley and the Riverina, where traditional ALP supporters opposed the government’s reforms.
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NSW Shooters, Fishers and Farmers MP Mark Banasiak said in state parliament on Tuesday that his party would stand candidates in the seat of every politician who voted for the Minns government’s gun reforms, which were backed by the Liberal Party.
The federal government’s reforms will include a national gun buyback, controls on firearm imports and moves to boost intelligence sharing among security agencies about gun possession in the community.
Opposition home affairs spokesman Jonno Duniam said the Liberal Party was open to tougher rules but warned they would not prevent future antisemitic attacks.
“If we want to reform gun laws to protect Australians, to protect society and make it more secure, then let’s have a serious conversation about it. But if anyone believes that reforming gun law will prevent this from happening ever again, they’re kidding themselves,” he said.
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