The Firearms Dealers Association of Queensland (FDAQ), which represents retailers who play a critical role in the process of buying a gun, planned the strike after not being named as a member of the state’s new Weapons Consultation Forum, which first met in June.

Katter’s Australian Party MP Rob Katter negotiated a last-minute, partial concession by the Queensland government to consult with industry.

Through this, another firearms industry forum has been established.

FDAQ president Rob Nioa said just days before the strike was planned to take effect, Police Minister Bill Byrne called an eleventh-hour meeting via the new forum to discuss proposed changes to Queensland’s Firearms Regulations and amendments to the National Firearms Agreement.

He said this took place only after strong representations by Mr Katter to Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk, resulting in the Premier’s personal intervention.

Mr Nioa has accused Mr Byrne of “dirty tricks”, saying he hadn’t convened a new forum of his own volition, and had come up with a “face-saving mechanism” of forming a separate group to the one his body had been left off.

“In a last-ditch effort to thwart the consultation process, Mr Byrne handpicked two individual firearms dealers and a Shooters Union representative for consultation,” Mr Nioa said. “A mutual member of both the FDAQ and the Shooters Union of Queensland attended the meeting through the cooperation of the SUQ.

“If the decision had been left to the minister, we still would not have been invited and the strike would be going ahead.”

There were a number of outcomes of the meeting that concerned Mr Nioa, firstly that although Mr Byrne advised attendees he would be signing an “in principle” agreement on amendments to the national firearms agreement at a meeting of police ministers next month, he told the meeting he didn’t know what the amendments were.

“Other police ministers have released parts of the agreement, so Mr Byrne appears to be the only police minister in the country who doesn’t know what he’s signing,” Mr Nioa said.

He added that as well as refusing to release any items on the agenda, Mr Byrne had not sought any feedback on them.

“He said that because it was an in principle agreement, the Premier could tear it up if she wished and that it doesn’t mean it becomes law, which is technically correct, but we all know that’s not what happens in reality,” Mr Nioa said.

As troubling for Mr Nioa as the ongoing lack of real consultation was a comment to the meeting that lever-action shotguns should be banned, and that they should have been banned in 1996.

“The Tasmanian police minister, in written communications, has confirmed that classification of lever-action shotguns is on the agenda for the national meeting.

“If Minister Byrne has expressed a personal objection to lever-action shotguns, is his fight to keep the peak body out of the room linked to that, and is it part of a bigger agenda to ban all lever-action rifles.

“We’ve already seen the minister take a strong stance against category H handguns. We wonder what other category of weapons he has in his sight.”

Mr Nioa said questions arose because of the “extreme, adversarial approach” taken by Mr Byrne, which had everybody on edge.

“If we were in the room we might be able to discuss this congenially but that opportunity isn’t being afforded to us at the moment.”

He said the last-minute engagement had come too late to have any value for his body as an input tool to the national firearms review.

“The forum now will be for the implementation of what is brought back, rather than providing advice on what to take,” he said.

“We understand that discussions between Katter’s Australian Party and the Premier’s office are continuing.

“I am hopeful that the police minister will ultimately have to consult with representatives for all firearms dealers regarding proposed changes to legislation that impact all of us every day.”

The police minister’s office has been contacted for comment.