SHOOTERS will be able to operate at the ANZAC Rifle Range on the Malabar Headland for another 50 years, after a lease was signed by the NSW Rifle Association.

The deal was championed by federal Liberal Democrats senator and gun enthusiast David Leyonhjelm, who claimed credit for the outcome on Facebook. But it was slammed by community group Friends of Malabar Headland, with chairman Dave Pyett branding it “a totally secret deal done in the back corners of Canberra.”

“Nobody consulted FoMH or anybody else. What on earth are they doing?” he said.

The headland has been made a national park, although the rifle club area will be off-limits to the public when shooting events are taking place.

“Malabar was a big fight, but I won in the end,” Leyonhjelm wrote on Facebook.

He said the “future of shooting sports in Sydney” had been assured.

“This has the potential to benefit around 55,000 sporting shooters who live in the Sydney basin.

“We now have a fantastic opportunity to upgrade to world class facilities, which would bring thousands of visitors to Sydney every year.”

media_camera Senator David Leyonhjelm in his office at Parliament House in Canberra. Picture: Gary Ramage

He said the agreement ended 20 years of legal action and uncertainty over the Malabar Range which had wasted public money, stalled local planning, and forced shooters not to upgrade their facilities.

Senator Leyonhjelm said he made the issue a priority from when he joined the senate and used it as a bargaining chip with the government on key pieces of legislation.

“I am proud of my record in representing shooters in the federal parliament,” he said.

“This includes restoring regular meetings between shooters representatives and the justice minister, and forcing the government to rethink its illogical stance on restricting the lever-action Adler shotgun.

“However, I am greatly concerned about what could happen after the election.

“I will be asking shooters around Australia to recognise that the Liberal Democrats are their representatives in federal parliament and to support us in every state.”