Australian party accused of asking US gun lobby for money

CANBERRA, Australia — Australia’s prime minister has expressed concern over a media report that an influential minor party asked the U.S. gun lobby for donations to help undermine Australian gun laws.

An Al Jazeera documentary showed One Nation party officials Steve Dickson and James Ashby flew to the United States for meetings with the National Rifle Association and other pro-gun interests in September last year weeks before the Australian Parliament banned foreign political donations. It is unclear whether they secured any money.

Prime Minister Scott Morrison said Tuesday his government had made laws to “criminalize taking foreign political donations so foreign lobbyists cannot seek to influence our politics.”

The Al Jazeera documentary comes ahead of elections expected in May.

One Nation said in a statement party members “have always complied with the law.”

The Associated Press

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