Michael Keenan (Stirling, Liberal Party, Minister for Justice) Share this | Hansard source

I thank the member for Banks for the question and for the interest he takes in law and justice issues. Firearms trafficking is a deadly crime and even a small number of guns illegally coming into the country represents a serious risk to the safety of our communities. That is why, prior to coming to office, we committed to implementing in government tougher penalties for gun-related crime, which includes the introduction of mandatory sentences of five years imprisonment for those convicted of firearms or gun trafficking offences.

When the coalition put these penalties to the parliament earlier this year, the Labor Party opposed them. This is despite the fact that the Martin Place siege review, conducted jointly by the Commonwealth and the New South Wales governments, specifically recommended that the Commonwealth and the states further consider messages to deal with illegal firearms. In March, we introduced this legislation giving the House of Representatives and the Labor Party another chance to join with us in opposing and providing the strongest possible sentencing for gun crime. This gives the Labor Party a chance to reconsider their position and make sure that this parliament sends the strongest possible message. Labor claimed during the last debate that they somehow have a longstanding position against mandatory sentencing. Indeed, the member for Batman, the sometimes shadow minister for justice, said during this debate that it is 'laid out in the Australian Labor Party's national platform that it is the strongly-held view of my party' that 'we oppose mandatory sentencing'.

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