Malcolm Turnbull (Wentworth, Liberal Party, Prime Minister) Share this | Hansard source

But what there should be no difference of opinion on is whether we want to stamp out illegal firearms. That is the real issue. I do not want to cause grief to the families of victims, but, Mr Speaker, if you go through the victims of terrorism in our country, you will find the consistent thread of illegal firearms. That is what is putting our people at risk. We are determined to stop their importation, we are standing up for the safety of Australians and we are demanding that we impose mandatory minimum sentences. For Labor to say they have an in-principle objection is demonstrated to be absurd. Only a few years ago in government, Labor advocated and legislated mandatory minimum sentences for people smuggling. Why? Because they thought it was a horrendous crime that needed to be stamped out and there needed to be a strong measure of deterrence. Gun smuggling is a similarly horrendous crime. We ask Labor to join us in stamping it out.

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