The weaponisation of our economy, police, politics and society is becoming normalised.听Military industries are becoming embedded in the Australian Defence Force and the economy, always seeking new ways to capitalise on听war.
Businesses in Australia are being groomed by the world鈥檚 largest arms corporations.听These mega-munitions businesses are given special status and enormous sums of money by the Australian government to export weapons.听
Queensland company Nioa is a case in point. It has evolved from a small regional ammunition retailer into the country鈥檚 largest privately-owned firearms and munitions supplier.
New partnerships with Rheinmetall and US Winchester, encouraged and financially supported by state and federal governments in Australia, took Nioa into the global arms supply chain.
Nioa also features in a report by Bill Brown for The Australia Institute commissioned by Gun Control Australia听.听It reveals that a National Rifle Association-style (NRA) gun lobby is flourishing here.
Sam Lee this lobby 鈥渉as deep pockets, extensive networks and parliamentary representation鈥 and aims听鈥渢o dismantle our gun laws 鈥 that have kept Australians safe for decades鈥.
The Australia Institute report also notes that firearms suppliers and their affiliates, such as shooting and hunting clubs and gun advocates, have made significant political donations, run campaigns to influence voters and encouraged the election of pro-gun cross benchers.
It found the Sporting Shooters Association of Australia (SSAA) had almost as many members, per capita, as the NRA in the United States, with almost 200,000 members and an estimated income of $18 million a year.
91自拍论坛听noted any dismantling of Australia鈥檚 gun laws would benefit the NRA because 鈥渢he NRA has a material interest in Australia relaxing its gun laws, given that guns are mostly imported from the US 鈥 meaning that the profits would flow back to NRA members and supporters.
鈥淭he public will on firearms is being circumvented because firearms interest groups have made a concerted effort to undermine these laws and loosen state-level gun controls.鈥澨
Shooting Industry Foundation
The other big shot in the Australian gun lobby is the (SIFA), the peak body for the firearms industry.听It from between 2014 and late 2018.
One of its directors is Robert Nioa, and son-in-law of Bob Katter, leader of the Australian Party.
From 2011 to 2018, Katter鈥檚 Australian Party received $808,000 in political donations, most of which came from Nioa and SSAA Queensland.
The state and federal branches of the Shooters, Fishers and Farmers Party received the second-largest disclosed political donations, totalling almost $700,000.听听Most of that came from hunting clubs, the SSAA, SIFA and the Amateur Pistol Association.
The Liberal Party was a distant third, receiving $46,000 in donations from SIFA and defence contractor Thales.
The Liberal Democrats received $37,000 from Nioa and SSAA, while the Nationals, the Labor Party and Country Alliance all received between $30,000 and $40,000.
Much of the gun lobby鈥檚 spending is done in election campaigns.
SIFA was the fourth-largest gun lobby donor from 2011-2018 and, while it only donated $64,000 to political parties,听it spent $750,000 on two听state election campaigns 鈥 the 鈥淔lick 'Em鈥 campaign in the 2017 Queensland election and the 鈥淣ot. Happy. Dan!鈥 campaign in the 2018 Victorian election.
Like political advertising funded by the NRA, the ads did not specifically mention guns. Instead, they focussed on crime rates, electricity costs and job shortages and encouraged votes for conservative minor parties.
鈥淭he strategy of the firearms industry running political campaigns that do not mention guns is an import from the United States, where it has been used extensively by the NRA,鈥 the .
The lobbying and campaigning done by the Australian gun lobby stays largely under the radar.听Its advertising in recent years has largely avoided mentioning firearms or gun control, instead pushing the line that shooting organisations are socially appropriate and have positive social benefits.
The ABC report on an into Australia鈥檚 gun lobby听found Senator Bridget McKenzie, chair of the Parliamentary Friends of Shooting, remarking during her time as sports minister that: 鈥淭his sport is a part of our heritage 鈥 it is in the top 10 medal sports in each and every Olympics for our country and that鈥檚 something we should be proud of, not something we should be scared of or afraid of.鈥
At a gun expo in 2018, McKenzie announced a听 of the shooting sports听
She said she did not support a ban on political donations or 鈥渁 political ban on any other sporting body that seeks to participate in the parliamentary democracy that we have here鈥.
The gun lobby, including manufacturers and importers, spend big dollars to exert influence. Guns are big money and strong gun laws are bad for business.听
The Australia Institute believes that because the gun lobby would face stiff opposition to talk of relaxing gun laws, it has concentrated instead on 鈥減ushing the boundaries鈥 of the National Firearms Act, aiming to legalise increasingly powerful weapons.
There is also mounting concern over the .听
Model citizen?
听is Australia鈥檚 largest supplier of firearms, optics, ammunition and accessories for shooters,听and represents more than 50 international suppliers including Federal and CCI ammunition, Ruger, Anschutz, Leupold, Bushnell, Colt and Glock.
NIOA promotes itself as a model citizen. The company was awarded of the Year and Land Business of the Year.
Nioa鈥檚 director said it was 鈥渁 wonderful achievement for a Queensland firm鈥 and professed his pride that 鈥渟ince our early days in regional Queensland, NIOA has been built on hard work, personal effort and trust, and these things are still the hallmark of the company鈥.
Many weapons companies will be looking for contracts at , a trade event in Brisbane in June. NIOA and the Queensland government are major sponsors.
The expo comes at an opportune time for the arms industry 鈥 both the government defence export strategy and the increasing听militarisation of police forces听help build sales for manufacturers.
Christopher Pyne joins board
In January 2018, then minister for defence Christopher Pyne announced a federal government contract to NIOA under the LAND 17-1C.2 Future Artillery Ammunition program.
Last year, of the company鈥檚 inaugural advisory board. NIOA was delighted he had accepted the position 鈥渁t an important time for the company and the future of Australia鈥檚 sovereign military capability鈥.
Apart from grants and contracts from federal and state governments, partnerships with companies like听also attract co-funding.听Skyborne manufacture unmanned aerial vehicles such as the听.
In a new joint venture, Rheinmetall-NIOA Munitions are set to make bullets and automatic machine-gun chains for export.听This includes ammunition for the US F-35 Joint Strike Fighter program, which received $28.5 million from the federal government鈥檚听听for the construction of its in Maryborough.
The new partnership may be set to cut in on Thales鈥 Australian munitions sales to Indonesia听whose military are implicated in human rights abuses in West Papua.
[This artice has been abridged from a background paper for which is calling on NIOA to rule out weapons sales to Indonesia. Wage Peace is organising to in Brisbane over听June 1-3.]