Gun laws: Malcolm Turnbull wants Labor to back tighter trafficking move

Malcolm Turnbull is moving to turn the tables on Bill Shorten by challenging him to back tougher gun trafficking laws.

Malcolm Turnbull has moved to turn the tables on Labor in the gun laws debate. Picture Kym Smith

Malcolm Turnbull is moving to turn the tables on Bill Shorten in the political brawl over gun control, challenging him to drop Labor’s objections to tougher laws on gun trafficking.

The Prime Minister wrote to Mr Shorten on Wednesday morning to seek support for a bill to impose mandatory jail terms on people caught trafficking in firearms, opening a new front on the issue.

Mr Shorten wrote back to the Prime Minister this afternoon, telling him that Labor opposed mandatory sentencing.

“As we have stated, we would be willing to secure passage of this legislation with amendments to remove mandatory minimum sentencing provisions,” Mr Shorten wrote.

Labor spoke out against the tougher trafficking laws in the last parliament on the grounds that mandatory sentencing rules would not work, indicating it would not support for the central element of the bill.

Mr Turnbull’s letter urges Mr Shorten to rethink the Labor stance so that criminals can be given stronger penalties.

“The government believes that mandatory minimums will be a strong deterrent for those who would otherwise engage in firearms trafficking,” he wrote.

“I note that our strong legislation on mandatory minimum sentences for firearms trafficking has been presented to the parliament twice in the past but it has been blocked by the Labor Party.

“The legislation has again been introduced to the parliament and I seek your support in ensuring its smooth passage. I urge you to reconsider your opposition to legislation for tougher gun penalties for gun smugglers.”

The letter responds to Labor’s accusations on Tuesday of a “guns for votes” deal between the Coalition and Liberal Democratic Party Senator David Leyonhjelm, who reached an agreement with the Abbott government in August 2015 to apply a sunset clause on the temporary ban of the Adler A110 lever-action shotgun with a seven-shot firing capacity or greater.

Labor MPs week endorsed the firearms trafficking bill but resolved to seek an amendment to carve out the mandatory sentencing provision. It is not clear whether Labor would insist on that amendment.

Mark Dreyfus, the opposition’s acting justice spokesman, said: “The government’s own Attorney-General’s Department explicitly says mandatory minimum sentences should be avoided. The government is defying the guidelines of its own department.

“Labor has zero tolerance for criminals involved in illegal firearms trade.

“Now we have a slew of Coalition MPs calling for the ban on the Adler shotgun to be lifted altogether. Is Malcolm Turnbull going to stand up to the radicals in his party and protect Australia’s gun laws?

“Mr Turnbull should be ashamed of the fact he is willing to consider trading away our world-beating gun laws for the sake of a vote in the Senate.”

The mandatory sentencing measures are central to the gun trafficking bill. It proposes a minimum sentence of five years in prison for trafficking firearms and a maximum of 20 years and a fine.

While the gun trafficking bill is a separate issue, it is also a test for legislators on their stance against illegal guns.

The Labor justice spokesman in the last parliament, David Feeney, said in February that the firearm trafficking bill was an example of “pure politics” rather than good policy.

“The Australian Labor Party maintains its position that the introduction of mandatory

minimum sentences for those convicted of firearms trafficking offences should be avoided,” Mr Feeney told parliament in the second reading speech on the bill.

“That is on the basis that the Australian Labor Party is opposed in principle and in all circumstances to the imposition of mandatory minimum sentences.”

Mr Shorten kept up his attack on Mr Turnbull today, declaring it was “not good enough” for the government to negotiate gun laws as part of its attempts to get other legislation through the parliament.

Additional reporting: Jared Owens