The federal government has been accused of political window-dressing rather than trying to keep Australians safe after it emerged it had been warned gunsmiths could easily sidestep a ban on a controversial shotgun.
The warning from the head of the Australian Crime Commission came days before former prime minister Tony Abbott's intervention in July last year to place a temporary import ban on the Adler A110 rapid-fire shotgun.
While the ban halted imports of a version of the Adler that could shoot eight rounds without the need to reload, a modified version firing five shots in rapid succession was soon introduced.
Gunsmiths have since been offering to legally convert the five-shot version of the Adler, in some cases so that it can hold as many as 11 rounds.
More than 7000 Adler rapid-fire shotguns have been imported since the 12-month ban was imposed.
Documents released by the Attorney-General's Department under freedom of information laws show a submission dated July 21 from ACC chief Chris Dawson to Justice Minister Michael Keenan warned "the manufacture of an after-market extended magazine is not difficult and requires no specialist gun-smithing skills".
Greens senator Nick McKim said on Thursday that the government's failure had led to thousands of dangerous, rapid-fire shotguns being imported into Australia "which can be easily modified with the minister's tacit approval".
"These documents expose the government's temporary import ban as political window-dressing rather than a genuine attempt to make Australians safer," Senator McKim said.
The Tasmanian senator said the import ban, which expires in August, would end well before a review of the National Firearms Agreement was finished, "and as a result we are facing a flood of currently banned rapid-fire shotguns entering Australia".
"This could necessitate another costly buyback funded by taxpayers if these weapons are controlled under the NFA, as they should be."
A spokeswoman for Mr Keenan earlier told AAP it was "wrong" to suggest the minister didn't follow the advice of law enforcement agencies.
"The minister receives ongoing advice from agencies regarding firearms. Such advice led to the importation ban on certain lever-action firearms," she said.
"States and Territories are responsible for regulating the modification of firearms, the Commonwealth does not have any jurisdiction in relation to that."
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