NSW Premier Mike Baird and Deputy Premier Troy Grant. Credit:Wolter Peeters "Our position is we are for the strongest gun laws possible; that means keeping that ban in place," he said. "If the federal government decided they want the ban to go ... what Troy is saying is if we get to the point to consider reclassification, he would anticipate them being strengthened". The Adler is currently classified Category A - the least restrictive of categories in terms of access. The ban, put in place pending a review of the classification of lever-action weapons, has become the subject of fraught debate in Federal Parliament, with former prime minister Tony Abbott arguing that access to the weapon should be curbed because of terrorism concerns.

The Adler shotgun. Mr Grant will attend a meeting of state and territory justice ministers in Canberra on Friday to discuss the issue. The meeting comes just weeks before a byelection in the rural state seat of Orange on November 12. He said his view remains the shotgun should be reclassified to category B. This would mean gun owners would have to prove they need the Adler's unique properties in order to get a licence. "My personal view remains that the appropriate position for national consensus on the Adler's classification is category B, but NSW and all the other states and territories must come to a landing point," Mr Grant said.

At best this is a tricky response from the Baird government, saying they support the ban but also a mechanism to get rid of the ban Mr Grant's position has been backed by federal Nationals colleagues Bridget McKenzie and Mark Coulton, who argue the weapon would be extremely effective for farmers in shooting feral animals on their property. Liberal MP Ian Goodenough and libertarian senator David Leyonhjelm share this view. Gun Control Australia wants the Adler either banned completely or classified in the more restrictive C category. Some law enforcement agencies have expressed concerns about the availability of high-capacity lever-action weapons, which have been in category A since the Howard-era National Firearms Agreement was decided in 1996. NSW Greens MP David Shoebridge has criticised the Nationals' position.

"This is an unfortunate first national precedent of a state government undermining the national ban on the importation of this dangerous weapon," he said. "At best this is a tricky response from the Baird government, saying they support the ban but also a mechanism to get rid of the ban. Australia doesn't need thousands of these guns." A prohibition on the Adler shotgun that fires up to eight rounds in as many seconds - as opposed to a separate model capable of five rounds - was imposed by Mr Abbott. Compared to other lever-action options in the market, the Adler is relatively low cost and and has a higher magazine capacity. The permitted five-round model can be legally and easily modified to fire up to 11 shots without reloading.