Member for Mallee Dr Anne Webster says The Nationals made the right decision for Mallee and the nation in the snap 2-day sitting in Canberra this week, opposing rushed gun law changes and standing against a poorly drafted attack on free speech.
Parliamentarians have returned to their electorates from Canberra after The Nationals worked around the clock for days to get the Federal Government to drop some controversial elements of its proposals, but ultimately the Bills could not be salvaged.
“Labor’s blatantly political approach to the tragedy of the 14 December Bondi massacre was not to directly address antisemitism, but instead to target law-abiding firearms owners and widen hate speech laws in unacceptable ways,” Dr Webster said.
“Law-abiding gun owners are not the problem. Free speech is not the problem. Antisemitism is the problem. Islamic extremism is the problem. Violent radicalisation is the problem.”
“The Nationals opposed Labor’s gun law changes because they were a diversion, and failed to address the real issue. There are already adequate laws that were not used to their full effect to stop violent Islamic extremists using guns to deadly effect.”
“As for hate speech, I have been very clear in Parliament and in my public comments that the Prime Minister needed to do more to address antisemitism, ever since October 7, 2023 and well before the Bondi tragedy.”
