The federal Labor Government has been using social media to claim new federal firearms legislation is “not aimed at farmers or sporting shooters”, and has been describing criticism of the new laws as “bullshit” — a move that has further angered firearms owners who feel unjustly punished by state and federal governments after the Bondi terrorist attack.
“If Labor wants unity and trust, it needs to stop dismissing legitimate concerns and start engaging honestly with the people impacted by its decisions,” Shooters Union president Graham Park said.
“Pretending there are no consequences does not make them disappear.”
In the wake of the attacks on 14 December 2025, the NSW Government rammed through laws which, among other things, ban straight-pull, lever/button-release and pump-action firearms (even vintage rifles) and also restrict the number of firearms licensed shooters can own, at least generally, to 10, and in many cases just four.
Not long afterwards, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese recalled Federal Parliament and introduced changes to the federal import laws which banned importing straight-pull and lever/button-release firearms, moved handgun importation permit responsibility to the Department of Home Affairs, and restricted the import of charger clips and speedloaders.
A number of Labor MPs have used social media to insist the new federal laws are not aimed at sporting shooters or farmers, and trying to downplay criticism of the laws.
Federal Labor MP for Hunter, Dan Repacholi — a shooter and Olympic Gold medallist — attracted considerable ire from shooters after stating on Facebook: “Most of what people are angry about are NSW decisions already made, not Canberra” and that “for law abiding firearms owners, this [the new federal laws] will not have an impact on them at all”.
Shooters Union Australia president Graham Park said Australia had a small domestic firearms market, very limited local manufacturing capacity, and long-standing regulation and economic barriers which made large-scale local production of most firearms-related items impractical.
This meant the overwhelming majority of lawful firearms, parts and accessories were sourced from overseas, he said, and that while restricting imports may not constitute an outright ban, it was effectively the same thing in practical terms due to the reduced availability, increased costs, longer delays and uncertainty it caused..
“Politicians can say all they like that these laws aren’t aimed at farmers or sporting shooters, but the consequences land squarely on them,” Mr Park said.
“Legislation doesn’t operate in a vacuum. If you restrict imports in a market that depends on imports, you restrict access — full stop.”
Mr Park said there were only two possible explanations for Labor’s continued dismissal of these concerns: either the Government does not understand how the firearms supply chain actually works, or it does understand and is deliberately downplaying the impact to protect a political narrative.
“Good law-making requires more than headlines and social media slogans; it requires effective engagement with stakeholders, technical experts and the people who will be affected,” he said.
“That did not happen here.”
Mr Park reiterated that nothing contained in the legislation passed by Federal Parliament would have prevented the Bondi terrorist attack.
“Repeatedly implying otherwise misleads the public and unfairly shifts blame onto responsible, licensed firearms owners who already operate under one of the most heavily regulated systems in the world,” he said.
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