NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian is under fire for not sidelining embattled police minister David Elliott

As calls increase for David Elliott to be stood down over guns probe, critics suggest NSW Premier fears his factional firepower.

Under-pressure NSW Police Minister David Elliott, left, and NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian.

A group of Labor and crossbench MPs have accused Premier Gladys Berejiklian of refusing to sideline embattled Police Minister David Elliott because he is a powerful factional player in the Liberal Party and any punishment of him could destabilise her leadership.

Labor, Greens and Shooters MPs came together on Wednesday to demand that Mr Elliott be stood aside while an ongoing criminal inquiry proceeds into his handling of two prohibited weapons at a shooting range in 2018.

The Minister referred himself to the NSW Police Commissioner for investigation on Monday after it emerged that he had fired a Heckler & Koch submachine gun and a semiautomatic pistol without a permit at the range, administer by Corrective Services NSW.

As revealed by The Australian on Monday, images of Mr Elliott aiming the weapons were posted onto his Facebook page. At the time of the incident he was the NSW Corrections Minister and visiting the range for its official opening.

Ms Berejiklian indicated on Tuesday that she did not intend to sideline Mr Elliott over the indiscretion, or the potential criminal conduct, and that he retained her “full support” while the investigation remains ongoing.

Labor’s Lynda Voltz said the premier was providing Mr Elliott with special treatment compared to another cabinet colleagues, John Sidoti, who stood himself aside as sports minister last year following a referral made about him to the Independent Commission Against Corruption.

NSW Police Minister David Elliott firing a Heckler and Koch UMG 40 and a Glock pistol at John Morony Correctional Centre in November 2018. These photos were posted on David Elliott's Facebook page on September 10, 2018.

The referral related to Mr Sidoti’s property transactions; he has repeatedly denied any wrongdoing and, unlike Mr Elliott, is not under formal investigation.

“This is just untenable,” Ms Voltz said of Mr Elliott. “The minister has obviously gone out there and fired a submachine gun. The police are doing an investigation. Why he’s still in the job is everyone’s guess.”

Greens MP David Shoebridge pointed to Ms Berejiklian’s factional obligations to explain why Mr Elliott – a pivotal figure in Liberal Party’s centre-right faction – remained untouched over the course of multiple scandals.

In November last year he was investigated over an alleged road rage incident involving a teenager. A subsequent review of the inquiry ruled there was insufficient evidence to progress the matter further.

“Clearly Minister Elliott has some kind of factional power,” Mr Shoebridge said. “When the police minister is caught out holding a submachine gun without any lawful basis to do so, and is facing a criminal investigation for a charge that carries 14 years imprisonment, what will it take for the premier to stand up and say enough is enough?”

A spokesman for Ms Berejiklian referred The Australian to her earlier comments in support of the minister.

Mr Elliott on Tuesday sought to downplay his responsibility over the handling of the weapons, telling a budget estimates hearing that he was acting in “good faith” when he fired them at the direction of the range’s instructor. He said potentially hundreds of people had unknowingly committed the same offence during visits to the firing range.

This is understood to include members of the NSW government and the opposition, along with members of their staff, though its unclear whether any of these people handled prohibited weapons. Police Commissioner Michael Fuller said on Tuesday the investigation would be examining these cases too, not just Mr Elliott.

Corrective Services NSW has since issued an apology to the Minister over what it described as an “administrative error” with its licensing arrangements.

Shooters, Fishers and Farmers leader Robert Borsak said Mr Elliott was using these unwitting participants as a cover for breaking the law.

“He thinks that if he pulls in enough other so-called hundreds who have broken the law with him, this is somehow an excuse for doing what he did,” Mr Borsak said. “The Premier should do the right thing – suspend him, or sack him. He doesn’t understand the very administration of the laws he’s supposed to be in charge of through the Commissioner of Police.”