Senator BOLKUS —My question is to the Minister for Justice. Is the minister aware that, during the Queensland election campaign, the One Nation Party promised to restore the right of gun owners to own and to use semiautomatic weapons and to introduce lifetime unlimited gun licences? Is the minister also aware of comments by the Queensland President of the National Party, Mr David Russell, that a coalition minority government in that state would amend firearm laws to make them—in his words—`more practical and workable'? Given that any minority coalition government would be dependent on One Nation votes, doesn't this mean that these firearm laws will be significantly weakened? Does the minister agree with Mr Russell's assessment that the Prime Minister `rammed through the gun laws without thinking and had got involved in something he had no understanding of'?

Senator VANSTONE (Minister for Justice) —I thank Senator Bolkus for the question and the opportunity it provides to reiterate the government's commitment to the national gun policy—a policy that was developed with the very strong initiative and leadership of the Prime Minister and a policy endorsed by the Commonwealth government, by the Commonwealth opposition, by the Democrats and, I think, by every senator in this place—and, equally, to advise the Senate that at the recent Australasian Police Ministers Council all ministers present, saving and except for Mr Whelan from New South Wales—making one of his now more regular attendances than in the past—voted to reaffirm their commitment to this policy and to look at a means of strengthening it.

Turning to the specifics of Senator Bolkus's question, I am not familiar with every word that is uttered by One Nation, but I certainly am familiar with the general thrust of what Senator Bolkus says as being a policy of One Nation's. The Commonwealth government's response to that has been made perfectly clear by the Prime Minister. We stand behind the national gun policy and we will use every means available to us to see that the gun policy remains intact and is supported by the states. That is very clear from the action only recently taken by this government to amend the customs regulations to prohibit the importation of category C pump action semiautomatic weapons without the approval of the Commonwealth to ensure that those weapons would not be proliferating in Australia into the hands of people who were not licensed according to the national gun agreement and policy.

As to the comments allegedly made by Mr Russell of the National Party as to what would or would not happen if a minority coalition government were installed as opposed to a Labor government in Queensland, we will have to wait and see who takes government in Queensland, but Australians can be sure of this: whoever forms a govern ment in Queensland will be certain of the Commonwealth government's position—that is, we fought hard to get a national gun policy; we have consistently supported it and only recently amended the customs regulations to further back it up; and we will stand firm for that policy against any state that seeks to walk away from it.

Senator BOLKUS —Madam President, I ask a supplementary question. Minister, will the Prime Minister allow a Queensland government to significantly weaken the national firearms agreement in the way proposed by One Nation and the Queensland National Party president? Can you, Minister, guarantee that the Prime Minister will not buckle on guns in order to appease the One Nation Party?

Senator VANSTONE (Minister for Justice) —That question from Senator Bolkus is almost a gift to repeat the earlier answer. Senator Bolkus and almost every Australian who is vaguely interested in the national gun laws know the Prime Minister's commitment to these laws. They know that the Prime Minister is not prepared to see any watering down of these bills. In fact, it was largely at the Prime Minister's instigation that the Commonwealth's position was strengthened by amending the customs regulations recently.

These gun laws are very much the creation of this Prime Minister. It was his leadership and determination that saw them come into being. His leadership and determination has not waned one millimetre.