Pauline Hanson’s One Nation party is siding with law-abiding firearm owners in response to an election promise wish list put forward by the Australian Federal Police (AFP) Association.
Among the proposals One Nation has refused to support is restricting the purchase of ammunition for firearms the individual does not have registered in their name. This move would effectively block licensed owners from borrowing and using a rifle belonging to someone else, which is legal in some jurisdictions.
The AFP Association is the professional organisation for the AFP, Australian Criminal Intelligence Commission and Parliamentary Security Service. AFPA President Alex Caruana has presented the group’s election manifesto in recent weeks with political parties including One Nation and has featured in media coverage.
The document includes a section titled Recognising community safety and lists the following five points:
- Introduction of a National Firearms Registry to monitor the sale, supply and movement of firearms across Australia.
- Enactment of federal legislation which would only allow individuals to purchase ammunition for a firearm/s they are legally licensed to possess.
- Cessation of importation of ammunition for weapons which are illegal to privately own in Australia.
- Retention of AFP Protective Service Officers at all current Commonwealth facilities.
- Amendments to the existing framework to expand on the capabilities of law enforcement to respond to child exploitation.
While wholly supporting legislative amendments to protect children from exploitation and the need for tight border security, One Nation raised concerns with some of the remaining points.
“One Nation will not support further restrictions on law-abiding gun owners in Australia,” Senator Hanson said.
“One Nation supports a National Firearms Interface that will better assist Federal Police to monitor the sale, supply, and movement of firearms across Australia, but does not support a centralised, Canberra-based registry.
“This would only hinder licensing and permit-to-acquire processes run by states.”