This article is more than 4 years old

This article is more than 4 years old

A new rapid-fire shotgun has hit the Australian market, prompting fresh calls from gun control advocates for the nation’s firearms laws to be tightened.

As federal and state law enforcement officials prepare to meet in Sydney this week to discuss firearm regulation, the Pardus LAX is being billed as “the new entrant” in the lever action market. More than 7,000 Adler rapid-fire shotguns have been sold in Australia in just six months.

A 12-month ban on a version of the Adler that can shoot eight shots in as many seconds without the need for reloading will expire in less than a month.

The Pardus is already attracting attention on gun websites in Australia, including so-called “prepper” sites frequented by people who believe a catastrophic disaster is imminent.

Gun control advocates have argued that the new breed of lever action shotguns is evidence that tough firearms laws introduced in the wake of the 1996 Port Arthur massacre are already being watered down.

“The minister [Michael Keenan] should act quickly and swiftly by making all lever-action shotguns into Category C,” Gun Control Australia said in a statement on Monday, warning that “the modern lever-action shotgun has found a new market here in Australia”.

“Since the federal government approved the importation of the Adler A110 we are seeing firearm companies competing for this new firearms market, trying to outdo each other in terms of capacity and design.”

But on Monday Malcolm Turnbull insisted the government was not complacent.

Offering condolences to Americans following the mass shooting in Orlando, the prime minister said: “We are ever-vigilant, we have strong gun laws in this country thanks to the work of John Howard years ago.”

Australia's gun laws ‘non-negotiable’, says Turnbull on Port Arthur massacre anniversary Read more

At least 50 people were killed and more than 50 more injured when Omar Mateen opened fire in a crowded gay nightclub at the weekend.

“Our security and police forces are vigilant in ensuring that we are protected against this type of extremism, this type of violence,” Turnbull said.

“We are rigorous in our efforts to ensure that guns are not illegally imported into Australia and we enforce the gun laws rigorously across the country. But we cannot be complacent. There are people outside our country and some within it who hate the freedoms that we enjoy and would seek to threaten them and undermine them with violence.”

But Howard and the gun control lobby argue the 1996 laws have already been weakened.

In April, on the eve of the 20th anniversary of the Port Arthur massacre, Howard said the current laws were inadequate.

“I’m not going to preach at the state government over this, they have to make a judgment about it. But I’m wholly against any watering down of the existing laws, and I would encourage sensible strengthening of the existing laws,” he said.

The issue will be discussed at the annual policing summit in Sydney this week, which will be attended by federal, state and territory law enforcement officials, with regulation of firearms ownership and gun reform a key part of the agenda.

The justice minister, Michael Keenan, is set to give the keynote address at the summit, where counter-terrorism and Australia’s approach to countering violent extremism will also be discussed.