Australia vows to strengthen laws against hate speech and gun control in the wake of the Bondi Beach attack

In the wake of the Bondi Beach mass shooting during a Hanukkah celebration, Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese announced a national gun buyback program and proposed new hate speech laws.

Although the legislation has not yet been drafted, it is already causing controversy amid fears that the laws could be enforced if political weapons emerge. Critics have also said that neither gun buybacks nor hate speech laws address the root cause of what led to the terror attack.

“Well, it’s a bit difficult for them to actually strengthen the laws. It’s not clear what they plan to do,” Dr. Reuben Kirkham, one of the directors of the Free Speech Union of Australia, told Fox News Digital. “What they’re probably going to try to do is expand it to include some things that don’t necessarily have to do with hate speech.”

Albanese told reporters Friday that the government is working to “get the laws right” and acknowledged the complexities surrounding the issue. He said that “there are also issues of freedom of expression involved – we want to make sure that these laws are not passed and then overturned.”

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The proposed changes include federal violations for “aggravated hate speech,” targeting preachers who promote violence and “serious defamation” based on race, Australian broadcaster reported. The newspaper noted that just 10 months ago, the government strengthened federal laws against hate speech with the aim of curbing anti-Semitism and Islamophobia.

At the same time, New South Wales (NSW), where the terror attack took place, is considering banning the chanting of the phrase “globalize the intifada,” which many view as an anti-Semitic call for violence against Jews. The ban would also apply to public displays of ISIS flags and extremist symbols.

In addition, NSW Premier Chris Minns said police would be given more powers under the ban to require protesters to remove face coverings during demonstrations, according to The Associated Press.

People take part in a floral tribute outside Bondi Pavilion on Bondi Beach in Sydney, Thursday, December 18, 2025. (AP Photo/Steve Markham)

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Kirkham told Fox News Digital that existing anti-defamation laws have already been used to ban speeches that go against the government’s positions. He believes that if these laws are tightened after the Bondi Beach shooting, they will be used as political weapons, rather than protection for ordinary people. Additionally, Kirkham said he sees this as the government using the attack as an opportunity to pass laws that suit its views.

Furthermore, Kirkham argues that Albanese’s proposal could actually increase anti-Semitism instead of ending it.

“What they’re really saying is, ‘We need more censorship laws. Why? Well, apparently to protect the Jewish people.’ So what they’re saying to these communities is, ‘We’re censoring you to protect the Jews.’ I mean, how’s that going to end? Is that going to improve the issue of anti-Semitism, or is it going to make it worse?”

While the Australian government has focused its response on hate speech and gun laws, critics such as Kirkham say the attack on Bondi Beach has exposed intelligence failures.

Albanese said on Friday that intelligence suggests the attack on Bondi Beach was in fact inspired by ISIS.

“We have learned that the Office of National Intelligence has identified a regular online video feed from ISIS that reinforces that this was an ISIS-inspired attack. Further work has been done by the security services around motivation, and we will continue to meet with them and provide them with any support they need during this difficult time,” Albanese said. told reporters.

Fox News Digital contacted the Albanian office for comment.

Bystanders were seen confronting one of the gunmen behind the deadly attack on a Hanukkah party on Australia’s Bondi Beach. (Jenny/Reuters)

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Bill Roggio, a senior fellow at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, told Fox News Digital that governments in the West have routinely failed to address the problems behind attacks inspired by Islamic extremism.

“The problem here is that there is a radical Islamist ideology that spans a spectrum from political Islam, the Muslim Brotherhood, Hamas and Palestinian terrorist groups, to al-Qaeda and the Islamic State, and we in the West refuse that and have done so from the beginning since September 11,” Roggio said. “We don’t want to admit that there is an actual problem within Islam, not with Islam, but within Islam.”

As authorities investigate the shooting, the father and son’s trip to the Philippines just before the Bondi Beach shooting has become a focal point.

The GV Hotel in Davao City said the men booked their stay through a third party and were initially scheduled to arrive on November 15, but arrived on November 1 instead. according to Reuters. An employee told Reuters that the two had booked the room for seven days, but extended their stay three times and paid in cash. The hotel employee also said that the men had little contact with the staff and that they had no visitors.

Philippine National Police Brig. Gen. Leon Victor Rosete, Davao Region Police Director, said the Guardian that the older shooter was interested in firearms. He also spoke about the gunmen’s ‘jog walk’, which was captured on CCTV, adding that the two appeared to be doing ‘physical conditioning exercises’.

“The father has shown an interest in firearms. He went into a firearms store,” Rosete told the Guardian. He later said they had not visited any shooting ranges in Davao.

A split image shows an ISIS flag being held by masked men, left, and a police-secured crime scene on Bondi Beach in Australia after a shooting. (Tauseef Mustafa/David Gray/AFP via Getty Images)

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Davao City is located on the island of Mindanao, which has been under a ‘Level 3: Reconsider Travel’ advisory since May. However, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said Davao City, among a few other locations, an exception to the advisory.

Roggio told Fox News Digital that Mindanao is a “known hotbed for Islamist groups.”

“If they hadn’t been in actual camps getting training, they could have been given advice on how to plan the attack, where to plan the attack, what the target should be,” Roggio told Fox News Digital. He said the two could also have received additional “indoctrination” during their stay in the Philippines.

People attend a floral tribute outside the Bondi Pavilion after Sunday’s shooting at Bondi Beach in Sydney, Friday, December 19, 2025. (Steve Markham/AP Photo)

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“Three weeks plus is not enough to become a highly efficient two-man firefighting team, but they have clearly received enough training to make that possible,” Roggio said.

As authorities try to piece together how and why the attack on Bondi Beach happened, the debate over the government’s response continues, with critics warning that a Band-Aid solution will fail to tackle the root of the problem.