Tanya Plibersek (Sydney, Australian Labor Party, Deputy Leader of the Opposition) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to the Deputy Prime Minister. Does the Deputy Prime Minister support lifting the import ban on the Adler shotgun for use in Australian agriculture? Was his department consulted on this ban?

Honourable Members:

Honourable members interjecting—

Tony Smith (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Did the Deputy Prime Minister hear the first part of the question? Could the member for Sydney repeat the question. There were some interjections. Interjections do not help.

Tanya Plibersek (Sydney, Australian Labor Party, Deputy Leader of the Opposition) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Certainly, Mr Speaker. My question is to the Deputy Prime Minister. Does the Deputy Prime Minister support the lifting of the import ban on the Adler shotgun for use in Australian agriculture? Was his department consulted on this ban?

Barnaby Joyce (New England, National Party, Leader of the Nationals) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I thank the honourable member for Sydney for her question. I have been waiting about a year for a question from the member for Hunter. Whilst I have been waiting, the Samsung 7 has blown up, caught on fire; Brad and Angelina are no longer Brangelina. I have been waiting for the Santa Claus of politics, the member for Hunter, but he only comes once a year and it is obviously not my day. Anyway, the member for Sydney has asked me a question. What I can say is this: this is obviously a question that will be discussed by the relevant state ministers, and I look forward to their deliberations. You asked me whether we use firearms on farms for pest control—yes, we do; whether we use them for recreation—yes, we do. You should have asked the question about where most of the illegal firearms come from. They are actually imported illegally, and 97 per cent of crimes, we find, are actually using illegal firearms. How to they get in? They get imported through the post—

Tony Smith (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The Deputy Prime Minister will resume his seat. The member for Sydney, on a point order?

Tanya Plibersek (Sydney, Australian Labor Party, Deputy Leader of the Opposition) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

It is a point of order on relevance. It was a very specific question: what is the Commonwealth's position? What will you argue on Friday?

Tony Smith (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The member for Sydney will resume her seat and she will not ignore the Chair, or she will be joining the member for Isaacs. I am listening very closely. The Deputy Prime Minister is in order.

Barnaby Joyce (New England, National Party, Leader of the Nationals) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I am answering the question. I must say that it is a thrill to get asked about the same number of questions from the member for Sydney as I do from the shadow minister for agriculture. We do actually believe in using firearms for pest control and recreation. What we do know is that overwhelmingly the firearms that are used in crimes are illegally imported. When we tried to get an increase in the sentencing for the people who use those firearms the people who stood against us were the Australian Labor Party. It is incongruous for the Australian Labor Party to come to the dispatch box in this instance. I keep on getting asked questions by the member for Sydney rather than the member for Hunter, the shadow minister for agriculture. It is also completely incongruous that the party that stands in the way of stopping illegal firearms from coming into this nation is the party that today is using its absolute and utter hypocrisy to try and implicate us.