Canberra – Senior members of Australian far-right party ‘One Nation’ have been caught attempting to obtain financial support and advice from the powerful U.S. National Rifle Association (NRA) to push for looser gun laws.
In a documentary, broadcast on Tuesday by Al Jazeera showed undercover footage of James Ashby, Chief of Staff to One Nation leader, Pauline Hanson, in Washington DC in 2018 attempting to solicit $20 million from the NRA.
Ashby was also seen discussing strategies to water down Australia’s gun laws.
The Qatari broadcaster used an undercover journalist to pose as a gun campaigner.
Ashby and fellow party official, Steve Dickson, tried to lobby the NRA as well as Koch Industries, which has donated hundreds of millions of dollars to conservative causes.
Australia has some of the world’s strictest and most effective gun laws, including penalties for unregistered firearms of up to 14 years in jail.
Australian Prime Minister, Scott Morrison, said that the Al Jazeera report was “deeply concerning”.
“Australia’s gun laws are world’s best thanks to former Prime Minister, John Howard, and we will not be changing them.
“Thankfully, our government has also made laws to criminalise taking foreign political donations so foreign lobbyists cannot seek to influence our politics,’’ he tweeted.
Hanson, who is a senator in Australia’s parliament, has frequently courted controversy for her views.
In October she tried to move a motion in parliament to endorse the phrase “It’s okay to be white,” which is frequently used by white supremacist movements.
In 2017, Hanson, who has in the past called for a ban on Muslim immigration, wore a burqa in the Senate chamber.