‘Being Drunk Is No Excuse.’ Australian Prime Minister Criticizes Far-Right Party Over Gun Lobby Recording

Australia’s Prime Minister Scott Morrison criticized far-right One Nation party members on Wednesday, a day after an undercover Al Jazeera documentary was released in which two party members were recorded asking American gun lobbyists for money.

One Nation Leader Steve Dickson and party founder Pauline Hanson’s chief of staff, James Ashby, said they were “on the sauce” when they requested $20 million from the NRA, reports The Australian.

“Being drunk is no excuse for trading away Australia’s gun laws to foreign bidders,” Morrison told reporters on Wednesday, according to The Australian.

Read More: Australian Prime Minister Accuses Political Party of Asking U.S. Gun Lobby for Money

The documentary, How to Sell a Massacre, filmed Dickson saying the funding would allow his party to get the the government “by the balls,” reports The Australian. Al Jazeera reporter Rodger Muller posed as the head of a fake lobbying group called Guns Rights Australia and organized the One Nation meetings with the NRA, according to The Australian.

“These are not parties of government, they are parties of grievance,” Morrison said, urging voters not to support One Nation.

Read More: What it’s Like to Own Guns in a Country with Strict Gun Control Laws

One Nation leader Hansen has been absent from the public eye since Al Jazeera released its footage, reportedly due to a tick bite on her face, but she posted a preliminary response to the film on Twitter:

Australia has strict gun laws. After a 1996 shooting in Tasmania’s Port Arthur left 35 people dead, then Prime Minister John Howard tightened gun control regulations, particularly related to rifles and shotguns, and announced a government weapons buyback. Over 650,000 guns were surrendered. Another 50,000 illegal firearms were handed in last year when the government granted illegal gun owners a three-month amnesty period.