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NSW Shooters and Fishers Party MLC Robert Borsak today hit back at the Federal Government’s proposal to change the law to move already legal five-shot and seven-shot lever-action shotguns from Category A to Categories B and D. No compensation will be offered to those who have already legally purchased them under the current regulations if they are reclassified, according to the proposal. “It’s basically 1996 all over again, but without the compensation. The Federal Government doesn’t want to look soft on terrorism or gun crime, so they will happily go after law-abiding firearm owners in search of a quick headline,” Mr Borsak said. “We’ve received word that the Federal Attorney-General’s Department’s Firearms and Weapons Policy Working Group met with Justice Minister Michael Keenan yesterday to discuss the future of lever-action shotguns,” Mr Borsak said. “They’re proposing nationally that five-shot lever-action shotguns be reclassified as Category B firearms; seven-shot versions be reclassified as Category D firearms, requiring an impossible-to-get Commissioner’s Permit. “Since five and seven-shot lever-action shotguns are now classified as Category A, this will lead to a national confiscation of once-legal firearms as they are arbitrarily reclassified. “NSW Police Minister Troy Grant rightly said in the Dubbo PhotoNews yesterday: ‘ours is a problem with illegal guns, not an issue with legal firearms or their owners.’ Minister Grant’s Federal counterparts, however, are not following through with this sentiment.” “To combat gun crime and terrorism, the Government should simply support my Bill for mandatory sentencing for firearms used in crime. I have been trying to get support from the Government for over three years but my requests have fallen on deaf-ears. “Another response would be to create a reward-system and amnesty for any black market firearms surrendered so that we can get them off our streets. We also need more investigations by police into the networks that hold and supply such illicit firearms.”