The spectre of Pauline Hanson’s surging support is spooking the Coalition from providing bipartisan support for tighter gun controls in a seismic shift from the political landscape that then-prime minister John Howard enjoyed in response to the Port Arthur massacre in 1996.

On a dramatic day in Canberra, Liberal and Nationals MPs voted against the Albanese government’s new gun laws, which were passed in the Senate with support from the Greens on Tuesday evening to tighten firearm licensing, restrict imports and establish a national buyback scheme.

Nationals leader David Littleproud and One Nation leader Pauline Hanson. Credit: Alex Ellinghausen

Thirty years ago, when Howard teamed with his Coalition colleagues to enact sweeping gun reforms, the Nationals were crucial in staring down howls of protest from rural communities to deliver what was the nation’s first major firearms crackdown.

Howard was lauded on the national stage for delivering some of the strictest gun laws in the world, and praise flowed to Nationals leader Tim Fischer for standing up to a vitriolic backlash from the bush, while Labor leader Kim Beazley offered unequivocal support for the government’s move.

At that time, Hanson held One Nation’s only seat in federal parliament, that of Oxley in Brisbane. But support for the party exploded into a shock........

© The Sydney Morning Herald