A SHOTGUN that can fire up to eight shots in eight seconds has sparked debate about Australia’s tough gun laws.

Some believe allowing the Adler A110 into the country would be a watering down of the Howard Government’s gun laws introduced after the Port Arthur massacre.

But others say the Turkish-made guns are perfectly legal and should remain so.

Farmers love the Adler, so should Australians allow them in?

WHY IS IT SO CONTROVERSIAL?

Some say the Adler A110 is similar to a semi-automatic gun because it can fire a number of bullets (called shells) quickly. While the version that can accommodate five shells is legal in Australia, there’s a ban against importing the one that holds seven shells (and one in the barrel).

Lever-action shotguns have been manufactured for more than 100 years but fell out of favour when pump action shotguns were developed that could fire shells slightly faster.

Unlike pump action shotguns, which were generally restricted to professional hunters as part of the Howard gun laws, the lever-action version hasn’t been as difficult to get, although this may now change.

Gun Control Australia vice-president Roland Browne told The Guardian that the Adler “fell through the cracks” because it worked like a self-loading shotgun, even though it technically wasn’t one.

The arrival of the Adler A110 has raised questions about whether lever-action shotguns should be reclassified because the seven-shot allows up to eight shells to be fired in eight seconds.

Former prime minister Tony Abbott introduced a ban on the seven-shot in 2015 after concerns were raised following the 2014 Sydney siege.

“With a heightened terror threat there is just no way that any serious coalition government, any government in the tradition of John Howard, should be allowing rapid-fire weapons on a very large scale into our country,” Mr Abbott told reporters in Canberra this week.

media_camera An Adler A110 shotgun. Picture: The Firearm Blog/Youtube

Some believe tight gun controls are one of the reasons Australia has avoided mass casualty events.

“If you allow rapid-fire guns into the country under relatively loose conditions you obviously raise the danger that people who want to do us harm will get access to them,” he said.

Asked whether the Turnbull government should rule out issuing any import permits for the Adler weapon, Mr Abbott said it should do whatever it needed to do to ensure that rapid-fire guns were not readily available in this country.

“This idea that shooters generally should have access to rapid-fire weapons is just crackers and it should never happen as far as I’m concerned.”

However, a sunset clause on the import ban was introduced while Mr Abbott was leader and this could have seen the ban lifted in August. The Turnbull Government chose to extend the ban and has now been accused of reneging on a deal with Liberal Democrats Senator David Leyonhjelm.

HUNTERS WANT THE GUNS

Gary Georgiou, owner of Safari Firearms in Bexley, NSW said the Adler was tailor made for “fast and furious” pig shooting from the bike, quad or all-terrain vehicle (ATV).

“When you’ve got a mob of 10 pigs or 30 roos and you want to terminate them quicker, the more shots the better,” he said.

“You want to kill most of them rather than only half and then have to chase them for the next few weeks.”

There are estimated to be more than 23 million feral pigs in Australia, which destroy crops, eat animals such as lambs and spread disease.

According to Fairfax, more than 7000 Alders guns were pre-ordered and due to be delivered when a ban on them expired in August this year.

media_camera Feral pigs in Queensland digging up a freshwater lagoon in Lakefield.

AND THE SENATE NUMBERS ARE TIGHT

Prime Minster Malcolm Turnbull has been under pressure to drop a temporary import ban on the seven-shot Adler so he can get his legislation through the Senate.

Liberal Democrats Senator David Leyonhjelm said he may not vote for the government’s ABCC bills unless the ban is dropped.

He said he was promised the ban would be dropped after 12 months and released an email giving details of a deal brokered by staffers from Justice Minister Micheal Keenan’s office while Tony Abbott was still prime minister.

In return Mr Leyonhjelm promised to vote against Labor amendments on a bill that gave immigration authorities increased power to collect biometric data.

Mr Abbott has since denied there was a deal but Mr Leyonhjelm said it was inconceivable his office didn’t know about it.

Malcolm Turnbull seems to be backing Mr Leyonhjelm, saying he was satisfied Mr Abbott knew about the deal after asking his ministers about the agreement.

“As a result of those inquiries I’m satisfied that the minister for justice acted in the full knowledge of the prime minister’s office at that time,” Mr Turnbull said in parliament today.

Yesterday Mr Turnbull said his government would “never weaken Australia’s gun laws”.

But Mr Turnbull has yet to clarify whether he wants a ban on the seven-shot Adler to be permanent.

THE GUNS ARE ALREADY AVAILABLE

There is confusion around the Adler 110 because the five-shot version is allowed to be imported, but the seven-shot one is not.

Once imported, the five-shot can be modified to fire up to 11 shots without reloading anyway.

Cleaver Firearms director Jade Cleaver said primary producers believe the two extra shots make a big difference.

“Holding an extra two shots is easier for hunting as you don’t have to reload as much,” he said. “It’s an advantage in the right applications such as hunting, pest destruction and rural use.”

Mr Cleaver pointed out people couldn’t just go into a gun shop and buy a firearm even those classified as Category A.

“You need to be licenced and a permit to acquire it,” he said.

“There’s not even an air rifle in Australia that is sold without registration,” he said.

media_camera You need a licence and permit to get a five-shot Adler, or any other gun, in Australia. Picture: Tony Gough

Getting a gun licence involves explaining why you need it, doing a training course and signing a declaration that you have a gun safe to store the weapon. Police do random checks to check these details are correct.

“To obtain a licence you have to be free of criminal convictions and police are also now looking at charges so if you are charged with an offence they can deny you,” he said.

“You have to tell them what you want it for, whether that’s sporting and recreation or agricultural use.”

He said the general wait time between applying for a licence and actually getting one, was about three months and this included time to do the training.

IT’S ABOUT CLASSIFICATION

Following the 1996 Port Arthur massacre, former prime minister John Howard introduced strict gun laws that basically restrict gun ownership to people with a licence.

However, some complain these measures are slowly being eroded.

In fact, the amount of guns in Australia have returned to the same levels they were prior to Howard’s buyback after the massacre.

The National Party is pushing for states to agree on a new classification for lever-action shotguns that would technically be a tightening of the current restrictions.

At the moment lever-action shotguns are classified as a Category A firearm, which are the least restricted.

NSW Deputy Premier Troy Grant, who is also leader of the NSW Nationals, is pushing for them to be classified as Category B, which would allow farmers to get a licence for them but only if they give a specific purpose, for example, shooting feral pigs.

If lever-action shotguns were reclassified, this is a trigger for the federal government to remove the temporary import ban on them. Some see this as a loosening of controls around the gun as the seven-shot is currently not allowed in the country.

Anti-gun lobbyists believe the Adler should be moved to the more restrictive C or D categories, similar to semi-automatic weapons, which can only be used by primary producers, or for official purposes.

NO WATERING DOWN OF GUN LAWS

Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull has said there would be no watering down of gun laws in Australia and actually this is true because the Adler is currently classified as a Category A firearm.

The reason it can’t come into the country is because the Abbott Government introduced a special import ban on them in August 2015.

This ban was only meant to be temporary while the states, territories and the Commonwealth reviewed the National Firearms Agreement

As part of this review some want the Adler A110 reclassified so that its use is more restricted. But if the ban is lifted without the Adler being reclassified, it would not technically be a watering down of gun laws.

‘IT’S UP TO THE STATES’

Government frontbencher Zed Seselja said it was up to the states and territories to decide on how the Adler should be classified.

But of course, the federal government must also agree to remove the import ban.

— With AAP

charis.chang@news.com.au

Originally published as What’s all the shotgun fuss about?