Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has announced that the government will introduce legislation for a gun buyback scheme, which will be jointly funded by the states and the federal government.
The NSW government will seek to introduce a four-gun limit for owners, and take steps to limit public gatherings during ‘high risk times’ – providing more detail on the restrictions on protests highlighted earlier this week.
She would try to enforce the ban on demonstrations for a maximum of three months.
Albanians also announced more funding for an anti-Semitism task force, and rejected calls to recall parliament next week to debate legislation.
Fifteen people were killed on Sunday in an attack on a Jewish Hanukkah celebration on Sydney’s Bondi Beach, which police said was carried out by two gunmen – identified as father and son Sajid Akram, 50, and Naveed Akram, 24. It was Australia’s worst mass shooting since the 1996 Port Arthur massacre.
Naveed Akram has been charged with 15 counts of murder and one count of committing a terrorist act, among 59 offenses following the deadly attack.
Albanese said he expects “hundreds of thousands” of weapons will be collected and destroyed through the plan.
“The terrible events at Bondi show that we need to get more guns off our streets,” he said at a press conference in Canberra on Friday morning.
“We know that one of these terrorists had a firearms license and had six weapons, despite living in the middle of Sydney’s suburbs.”
States and territories will be responsible for the collection and processing of firearms and subsequent payments for surrendered firearms, he said, which is “consistent with the approach taken in 1996”.
“There are now more than four million firearms in Australia – more than at the time of the Port Arthur massacre almost 30 years ago.”
Asked whether there would be a limit on the number of guns one person could own, Albanese said this would be determined by the government.
However, he acknowledged that he was surprised that Sajid Akram was allowed to own six guns.
“There is something wrong with the licensing laws if this man is allowed to have six high-powered rifles, and that is why the government is taking action,” he said.
Albanians also announced that December 21 would be recognized as a national day of mourning for the victims of the Bondi shooting.
Flags on all NSW and Australian government buildings will be flown at half-mast “as a mark of respect for the lives lost and the grief shared across our country”, he said.
Funding boost for anti-Semitism in the police
Albanese announced that the government will also increase funding for Operation Avalite, an anti-Semitism taskforce led by the Australian Federal Police (AFP), to “disrupt politically motivated violence, inter-community violence and hate crime with high harm and impact”.
The Prime Minister did not say what this ‘boost’ entails.
AFP Commissioner Krissy Barrett said there are 161 ongoing Operation Avalite investigations since its establishment in December 2024.
“There are groups and individuals across Australia who are eroding the social fabric of the country by advocating hatred, fear and humiliation,” Barrett said.
“I’m not going to mince my words – too much of this is directed at the Jewish community.”
‘Not practical’ to recall parliament, says Albanese
Albanians are under pressure from the opposition to recall parliament before Christmas to introduce new laws to combat anti-Semitism in Australia.
Albanians announced the proposed legislation on Thursday.
The proposed legislation includes:
– Aggravated inciting hatred against preachers and leaders who promote violence.
– Increased punish hate speech that promotes violence.
– To make hate an aggravating factor in sentencing crimes for online threats and harassment.
– To develop a regime for listing organizations whose leaders engage in hate speech and the promotion of violence or racial hatred.
– To develop a narrow federal offense for serious defamation based on race and/or advocating racial supremacy.
Opposition leader Sussan Ley has accused Labor of announcing new laws to combat anti-Semitism two years too late and “allowing anti-Semitism to fester”.
“We demand that parliament be recalled to pass legislation to eradicate anti-Semitism and counter violent extremism. That could happen as early as next week,” she said on Thursday afternoon.
But Albanians said it is “not practical” to recall parliament so quickly and that it will take time to get the “complex laws”.
“It’s not practical, and I suspect the Opposition Leader knows that’s not the case,” he said.
“We’re going to make sure we get the laws right.”
NSW to introduce gathering laws and reform gun laws
NSW Premier Chris Minns will recall state Parliament next week to debate gun law reform in the wake of the terror attack.
The first bill to be dealt with concerns firearms legislation and he also flagged the pre-emptive banning of certain protests on international issues, he said at a press conference on Wednesday.
During his speech on Friday afternoon, he further announced the proposed legislation.
“The government will introduce a bill to impose a limit of four firearms per individual, with strict exceptions for primary producers and sports shooters,” he said.
“[We] will reclassify straight, trigger, pump action, button and lever release firearms into Category C – limiting their access primarily to farmers, agriculture and primary producers.
He also announced a reduction in magazine capacity for category A and B firearms to a maximum of five to 10 rounds.
There will be a complete ban on firearms that can use belt-fed magazines, and the state will abolish the appeals option once it has been decided that a person’s gun license should be revoked.
The other piece of legislation will aim to limit public gatherings during “times of high risk,” Minns announced, saying there is a “public expectation” of “a summer of calm rather than a summer of division, hatred and protests.”
“The government will act to ensure we restrict permission for public gatherings during high-risk times, such as when a terrorist event occurs in New South Wales,” he said.
“A report must be made within 14 days of a terrorism designation being reached under the Police Powers Act.”
It will then be for 14 days, but can be extended for another 14 days up to a period of three months, he explained.
“We hope this will send a strong message to the community that gatherings in public spaces in a designated area are unsafe or discouraged during a period of mourning, division or terrorism,” Minns said.
The NSW government will also introduce legislation to ban ISIS flags in the state to “ensure they are not used as part of the propaganda of crazed terrorist organisations”.
ISIS refers to the branch of the self-proclaimed Islamic State group in Syria and Iraq. The flag is also used by the terror group’s members in other parts of the world.
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