Anthony Albanese accused of ‘dodgy’ by-election deal with Shooters

The Liberal Party has accused Anthony Albanese of clinching a ‘dodgy preference deal’ in the Eden-Monaro by-election.

Labor’s how-to-vote card for the Eden-Monaro by-election.

The Liberal Party has accused ­Anthony Albanese of clinching a “dodgy preference deal” in the Eden-Monaro by-election with the Shooters, Fishers and Farmers Party — which has advocated for repealing John Howard’s gun laws and “practical firearms experience” for schoolchildren.

The shooters party has preferenced Labor candidate Kristy McBain fourth on its how-to-vote card, ahead of Liberal candidate Fiona Kotvojs who is fifth, while the ALP preferenced Shooters candidate Matthew Stadtmiller third, behind the Greens. Depending on how tight the race is for the prized marginal seat, Mr Stadtmiller’s preferences could decide who wins the by-election.

He is placed first on the ballot paper, which could boost his primary vote by 0.5-1 per cent.

The Liberals on Sunday seized on Labor preferencing Mr Stadtmiller third, pointing to the Shooters’ record on gun policies.

The NSW Shooters’ firearms policies in 2017 included repealing the 1996 national firearms agreement, enacted after the Port ­Arthur massacre; abolishing the 2012 ammunition bill, which ­ensures people can buy ammunition only for guns they are ­licensed to hold; and offering practical firearms experience to school students. The party’s platform has since been overhauled, with the most recent version hitting out at the national firearms agreement for failing to address illegal firearm distribution and use in crime. It does not call for the laws to be revoked.

It also proposes no longer ­recording ammunition sales, which the party says “serve no purpose in enhancing community safety and create criminal shopping lists, and supporting measures that increase a person’s right to self-defence”.

“Anthony Albanese appears to have done a dodgy preference deal with a party that has a long history of advocating for the ­repeal of the Howard gun laws,” NSW Liberal senator Jim Molan, who lives in the Eden-Monaro electorate, said.

“Mr Albanese needs to come clean on the details of this dodgy deal, what discussions took place between the two parties, and why he is willing to trade preferences with a party that wants to water down Australia’s gun laws.”

Mr Albanese’s office declined to respond to Senator Molan’s ­attack but pointed The Australian to the Labor leader’s comments on Saturday, in which he said the party’s preferences were designed to “maximise the formality of the Labor vote”.

“When you've got 14 candidates, the how-to-vote will be as simple as possible,” Mr Albanese said. “It will go No 2 to the Greens party candidate. It will then go from the top (of the ballot paper), just straight down the ticket, with the exception of … one of the independents who I think has particularly obnoxious views on racial issues. So there's a bit of a change whereby they will be put last.”

Mr Albanese also seized on the Nationals’ how-to-vote card, which preferences Dr Kotvojs second and Ms McBain fourth.

The Liberals have preferenced Ms McBain eleventh. It is understood some in the Nationals wanted to preference Ms McBain higher to send a message to the senior Coalition partner that the party could play a role in the by-election and would not be sidelined, even if it receives a small primary vote like it did in 2019.

Nationals MPs were also frustrated by what they claimed was an intervention by one of Scott Morrison’s allies, Alex Hawke, in trying to recruit NSW Transport Minister Andrew Constance to run for the Liberals when NSW Deputy Premier John Barilaro, a National, had expressed interest in the seat.

Greens will preference Labor.