SSAA Victoria News

The import ban on the seven-shot Adler A110 lever-action shotgun will continue indefinitely if the states cannot agree to a classification for the firearm, according to the Prime Minister.

Speaking in Parliament last night, Malcolm Turnbull revealed the real motives for extending the ban for the first time. Until that point, the ban was extended “until the National Firearms Agreement had been completed”.

“We stand by John Howard’s National Firearms Agreement. We’re proud of it,” Mr Turnbull said. “We put in place an import ban that expired in August this year. Because agreement has not been reached, we have renewed it indefinitely.

“It is not a temporary ban, it is permanent. It is set in stone – it can be amended, but it is there. What my Government has done is ensure that no Adler lever-action guns with more than five rounds can be imported under any category.”

A media storm erupted on Monday night after Liberal Democratic Party Senator David Leyonhjelm offered to vote in favour of the Australian Building and Construction Commission bills in return for a lift on the Adler ban. Unfortunately, Senator Leyonhjelm’s plan appears to have failed catastrophically.

Journalists across the country grabbed hold of Senator Leyonhjelm’s announcement and published story after story on the topic, with more and more misinformed parties stepping in to make comment.

Overnight the Opposition made the Adler the top priority for question time. Labor leader Bill Shorton asked, “Will the Prime Minister rule out weakening John Howard’s gun laws as a part of horse trading in the Senate?” He directed another question to Justice Minister Michael Keenan: “Has the Minister ever offered to weaken Australia’s gun laws for support in the Senate.”

Using the opportunity to raise his dwindling public profile, former Prime Minister Tony Abbott also involved himself in the debate. He Tweeted that it was “disturbing to see reports of horse-trading on gun laws. ABCC should be supported on its merits.”

Even Mr Abbott’s disgraced former Chief of Staff Peta Credlin then jumped on the bandwagon, claiming there was never a deal to end the Adler import ban and linking lawful firearm owners and terrorists. “Let’s not forget we had gone through terror raid after terror raid and obviously Martin Place and Tony was adamant that it would not come into the country in that classification that it was proposed for. Nor would it come in in the immediate aftermath of those arrest,” she said.

Federal Nationals MP Mark Coulton was critical of the Senator’s decision to go public with his bargaining tool. “If you want to get something you usually gather the support on the quiet and do it behind the scenes,” he said. “Once it’s headline news it becomes very difficult.”

This morning the firestorm continued, with representatives from Gun Control Australia and the Alannah and Madeline Foundation flooding the air waves with misinformation. Fortunately our National President Geoff Jones has been involved with several media interviews on behalf of the SSAA.

SSAA Victoria Chief Executive Officer Jack Wegman says the Adler debate is totally out of control and the credibility of the National Firearms Agreement is in question. “The authorities who are conducting this review are refusing to disclose any meaningful information to the shooting industry,” he said. “We have been stonewalled at every turn. We have heard many possible changes to the National Firearms Agreement – some distressing and others pleasing – but everything at this point is hearsay.

“I cannot overstate this. It is up to firearm owners everywhere, members of all shooting organisations, to unite and put pressure on the State and Commonwealth governments. Remember 1996 and do everything you can to prevent that from reoccurring.

“Please write to your local members, write to the Victorian Police Minister Lisa Neville and write to the Federal Justice Minister Michael Keenan. If you haven’t already, talk to friends, family and work colleagues about the Adler and the National Firearms Agreement review and educate them on the misinformation being spread by the anti-gun lobby and some politicians. Remember to always remain calm and respectful.”

When speaking with friends, family and colleagues, SSAA Victoria encourages all members also to remember the following:

• Decisions must be based on data and evidence, not intuition, instinct or prejudice, and made with consistency.
• No evidence has been presented that lever-action firearms pose any more risk than any other firearm, which is legally available.
• Lever-action technology was invented in the 1860s, making it more than 150 years old.
• There have been no recorded cases of an Adler being used in crime in Australia.
• Lifting the importation ban on the Adler shotgun would not be trading away Australia’s gun laws – it would be applying them consistently.
• This type of shotgun has been available in Australia since 1887. The early models included those with a magazine capacity of seven. In 1996, lever-action firearms were classified as Category A and there have been no safety issues involving lever-actions since.
• The Adler simply has a more modern and ergonomic design relative to other models of lever-action shotgun and a lighter weight alloy receiver.
• Firearms experts from the Australian Federal Government have confirmed there is no new technology in the firearm and that it operates in the same manner and same speed as all other lever-action shotguns.
• Pursuing the recategorisation of lever-action shotguns with a capacity of more than five rounds will establish the platform for the recategorisation of lever-action and pump-action rifles.

The following fact sheet may be of use to members. This was created last year and circulate to politicians.