Deputy Premier John Barilaro has been accused by Labor of encouraging vigilantes and seeking to foster "an American-style guns culture" after calling for an inquiry into the issue of self-defence using a firearm.
Mr Barilaro, who is Nationals leader, has written to the Legislative Assembly committee on Law and Safety seeking an inquiry into the operation of the Firearms Act "in relation to persons who believe they are reasonably and proportionately responding to a threat imposed on themselves of their family".
The issue emerged before October's Cootamundra and Murray byelections at which the Nationals fought off the Shooters, Fishers and Farmers party.
Farmer David Dunstan was woken at 3.30am by a knock on the door of his family home near Albury by an 18-year-old man holding a knife and a large piece of wood.
He confronted the man with a licensed and unloaded rifle he retrieved from a safe but said he did not point it at him.
When police arrived to investigate later that day they confiscated Mr Dunstan's three firearms. He was eventually cleared of criminal wrongdoing, but the issue became a lightning rod for farmers' and gun owners' rights.
Mr Barilaro visited Mr Dunstan at the time and said the law would need to be looked at.
But opposition leader Luke Foley criticised Mr Barilaro's call for an inquiry.
"I don't want a bar of an American-style guns culture here in Australia," he said.
"The last thing our political leaders should be doing is giving encouragement to vigilantes.
"Mr Barilaro should not walk away from the current bipartisan support for Australia's strong gun laws".
Mr Barilaro told Fairfax Media that Mr Foley's comments were "hypocritical in the extreme". "In fact they're laughable," he said.
He said Labor had done a preference deal with the Shooters, whose policy is to repeal the national firearms agreement put in place after the Port Arthur massacre and allow shooting permits for 10-year-olds.
"If there was ever any risk to seeing American-style gun laws here in Australia, that risk is Luke Foley's dirty deal in trying to deliver two seats to the Shooters Party," he said.
