John Howard warns Shooters deal disastrous for NSW gun control
Days after the Christchurch mosque shootings, John Howard has warned that our gun laws are at risk of being eroded.
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On the back of the Christchurch shooting, former prime minister John Howard has again warned NSW’s strict gun laws are at risk of being eroded.
Ahead of Saturday’s state election, Howard has warned NSW Labor’s preference deal with the Shooters, Fishers and Farmers Party could be disastrous in terms of gun control in the state.
Mr Howard, who was forced to confront the horror of the 1996 Port Arthur massacre and by doing so paved way for a national approach to gun control, has stood by statements made before Friday’s Christchurch terror attacks about the consequences of preferencing the Shooters party.
The Shooters want a repeal of the National Gun Control Agreement, introduced after Martin Bryant murdered 35 people and injured 23 in one of the world’s deadliest shooting sprees.
He was sentenced to 35 life sentences for the Tasmanian massacre.
On Monday Mr Howard joined NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian in the battleground western Sydney seat of Penrith.
“It’s a statement I made before the tragedy across the ditch and it’s a statement I repeat,” Mr Howard said.
“If Labor were to win with the help of the Shooters, the Shooters would demand a relaxation of our gun laws — that is as sure as night follows day.”
However, NSW opposition leader Michael Daley has said he would quit before touching the state’s gun laws.
“Absolutely no watering down of the NSW gun laws. I give you my signed pledge in blood on that one,” he told the ABC.
Mr Howard filmed an election video for the Liberal Party — before the massacre — attacking Labor’s preference deal. It was released on Sunday night.
Ms Berejiklian said Labor leader Michael Daley’s link with the minor party could not be compared to her government’s history of legislative bargaining with the Shooters.
She insisted there was a difference between political negotiation in the upper house and an election preference deal.
“We owe them nothing,” she said. “We are not doing a preference deal with the Shooters, Mr Daley is, he has to answer to that,” Ms Berejiklian said.
TERROR ATTACK POLITICISED
NSW Shooters MP Robert Borsak, who boasted of shooting and eating an elephant during a state parliament speech, has accused the premier of politicising the New Zealand attack.
At least 50 people were killed and more than 50 have been wounded in the attack which targeted two mosques in Christchurch on Friday.
What to tell your kids about the NZ attack
The accused shooter, who has since been charged with murder, is an Australian citizen.
After the attack, a hate-filled manifesto surfaced that was filled with anti-immigrant and anti-Muslim ideas.
“How anyone could possibly believe that we would want to put the NSW public at risk with firearms policy beggars belief,” Mr Borsak said in a video on Twitter.
It concerns me the Labor Leader has a preference deal with the Shooters.
— Gladys Berejiklian (@GladysB) March 17, 2019
It concerns me as it legitimises a party that supports the weakening of gun laws, giving access to guns to 10 yr olds & bringing semi-automatics into NSW. I don’t stand for that. I never have, I never will. pic.twitter.com/LY9yiNjhXv
“This coming from a premier whose party has made an art form out of dog whistling to racist white supremacists, especially … John Howard.”
Mr Howard joined the premier for a street walk through Penrith, where polling suggests the Liberals are at risk of losing the seat to Labor.
The pair, along with Penrith MP and minister Stuart Ayres, met with locals in a shopping centre, stopping to pose for selfies and hold babies.
“NSW cannot go back to Labor. Labor have not been in the sin bin long enough as far as I’m concerned,” Mr Howard told reporters.
Asked about polling that indicates Saturday’s election is on a knife’s edge, Mr Howard said it was too hard to predict the result.
“No election should be taken for granted,” he said.
“Never take an Australian voter for granted because you’ll get a rude awakening if you do so.”
‘NO INTENTION TO WATER DOWN LAWS’
Mr Daley reiterated he had no intention of watering down the state’s gun laws, and accused the coalition of hypocrisy, given the government had relied on the Shooters to pass legislation.
“For the past eight years they (the Coalition) have relied on their (Shooters) votes in the upper house to get almost every piece of legislation through, including to make duck hunting easier and to make shooting in national parks legal,” he said.
As Mr Howard voiced concerns about gun laws, Mr Daley used Twitter to show his party cared about wildlife protection, announcing a boost to volunteer wildlife carers across the state and a commitment to establish a new koala protection park if elected.
Not your average day in the office... ðŸ¨
— Michael Daley (@michaeldaleyMP) March 17, 2019
Cheeky Archer the koala visited Parliament to help us announce @NSWLabor’s $1.8 million boost in support for volunteer wildlife carers across NSW. pic.twitter.com/MIl6HnEb5o
“People can want whatever they want but I’m telling you, if you want a change in gun laws, don’t talk to Michael Daley. Talk to the hand because you won’t be getting it.” Mr Borsak said in the aftermath of Friday’s terror attack in Christchurch “we have this Liberal-National government desperately trying to divert attention away from their neglect of the bush”.
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