08:12

Former prime minister John Howard has distinguished his government’s 1999 decision to offer safe haven to 4,000 Kosovars from the question facing Tony Abbott over Syrian refugees.

“That safe haven was offered in the genuine belief ... it would be a temporary thing only and that the aggressors would be taken out and the Kosovars could go back to their homeland,” Howard told reporters in Sydney. “I don’t know that the circumstances now are exactly similar.”

He would not be drawn on suggestions by senator Eric Abetz that Christians should be given priority. “Christians and other minorities are very badly treated, very badly, and I can understand the calls that have been made for some priority to be given to those minorities,” Howard said. “All I can say is that Christians and other minorities are being particularly singled out for very harsh treatment. I’m not in a position to do anything except note the reality, and the question of whether one group or another should be given priority is a matter entirely for the government,” he said.

Speaking at an event for Gun Control Australia, Howard said it would be “a huge mistake” if the Abbott government failed to ban imports of a rapid-fire shotgun, the Adler A110, which could be legally imported in 12 months under a deal struck with Liberal Democrat senator David Leyonhjelm. “If the government ends up letting this in, and not treating it as it should be ... then I’d be very critical,” Howard said on Tuesday.