Perhaps gun tote’n Malcolm should do nothing

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At The Australian we find useless:

A political storm over “guns for votes” has forced Malcolm Turnbull to rule out weakening import bans on lethal weapons after the release of emails showing the government raised the prospect of phasing out a ban on a controversial shotgun in return for a key vote in the Senate.

The damaging row overshadowed Mr Turnbull’s push in parliament for curbs on union power as Labor accused the government of destroying the legacy of John Howard’s tough gun controls, imposed two decades ago in the wake of the Port Arthur massacre. The Prime Minister faces calls to go further to prevent the importation of more powerful weapons, as gun-control activists warn that his assurances still allow imports of a shotgun capable of firing five rounds in quick succession.

…Mr Shorten applied pressure on the Prime Minister shortly before noon yesterday by moving a ­motion that the House of Representatives would “never water down” gun laws. “The Prime Minister is willing to risk more guns on the streets for one vote in the Senate,” Mr Shorten said.

…Tony Abbott tweeted yesterday that it was “disturbing to see reports of horsetrading on gun laws” but the initial deal with Senator Leyonhjelm was done when Mr Abbott was prime minister, ­according to the lengthy email chain seen by The Australian.

The return of the Australian Building and Construction Commission is welcome but any randomly selected kindergarten child could have told the PM not to go there.

About the author
David Llewellyn-Smith is Chief Strategist at the MB Fund and MB Super. David is the founding publisher and editor of MacroBusiness and was the founding publisher and global economy editor of The Diplomat, the Asia Pacific’s leading geo-politics and economics portal. He is also a former gold trader and economic commentator at The Sydney Morning Herald, The Age, the ABC and Business Spectator. He is the co-author of The Great Crash of 2008 with Ross Garnaut and was the editor of the second Garnaut Climate Change Review.