AUSTRALIA’S import ban on the lever-action Adler A110 shotgun can be lifted next year with a national agreement on a new D licence, limiting it to a handful of professional shooters.
In a major victory for the gun-control lobby, Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull and state premiers are now set to ratify the new rules when COAG meets on Friday.
The deal will act as a de facto ban, with the gun only able to be imported and owned by limited to a tiny number of professional shooters who specialise in pest and feral animal control on a D licence.
That is likely to trigger calls for a taxpayer-funded national buyback of thousands of retrofitted Adler shotguns already in the country that will be rendered illegal if they have a magazine capacity of more than five.
The Martin Place siege was the trigger for a review of the National Firearms Agreement and the current Adler import ban will continue until there is unanimous agreement with all jurisdictions about how to classify lever-action shotguns with a magazine capacity of more than five.
The Sunday Herald Sun can reveal the gamechanger was NSW Premier Mike Baird’s decision to roll his own Police Minister Troy Grant in cabinet on the controversial shotgun on Thursday.
It was revealed last Sunday that NSW Police had urged cabinet to stare down the pro-gun lobby with a tough D classification.
Mr Grant had publicly campaigned for a weaker B classification for the Adler shotgun in the lead-up to the Orange by-election in NSW that was won by the Shooters Party as the Nationals attempted to court shooters.
The NSW cabinet decision is pivotal, because there is already broad national consensus that the Adler should be reclassified as a D licence firearm and NSW was the final barrier to a resolution.
The Prime Minister confirmed the National Firearms Agreement will be on the COAG agenda on Friday.
Although COAG did agree to restricting the importation of Adler A110 shotgun, this is definitely a retrograde step as there is not a total ban on this weapon.
Changes to the National Firearms Agreement also have to go to state parliaments in 2017 for ratification.
Although COAG did agree to restricting the importation of Adler A110 shotgun, this is definitely a retrograde step as there is not a total ban on this weapon.
Changes to the National Firearms Agreement also have to go to state parliaments in 2017 for ratification.
ABC
News reported
on 10 December 2016:
Under Category D, the
Adler will only be available to professional shooters under certain conditions.
However, the premiers
and chief ministers will have to pass the changes through their parliaments
first.
This may prove difficult
for the Queensland Labor minority Government, where Bob Katter's Australian
Party is threatening to block the restrictions and the LNP Opposition has not
decided how they will vote.
"I'm confident that
state national parties will stand by shooters and hunters and evidence-based
policy making," Senator McKenzie said.
North Coast Voices readers may recall that the man behind plans to import the Turkish-made gun is Robert Nioa, the son-in-law of Bob Katter.
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