Australia approves national gun buyback and tighter controls after Bondi attack

Australia’s Parliament has passed new laws implementing a national gun buyback, limiting firearm imports and tightening background checks, moves adopted swiftly after the Dec. 14 mass shooting at a Hanukkah celebration in Bondi Beach, Sydney, in which two men killed 15 people and wounded dozens.

Under the new measures, background checks for firearm licences can include assessments by national intelligence agencies, and in some cases authorities will check whether an applicant is an Australian citizen; only citizens will be allowed to import guns. Authorities have said the firearms used in the Bondi attack were bought legally and have characterised the shooting as a terrorist attack motivated by antisemitic ideology.

Officials say there are now more than four million firearms in Australia, a record. Details of the buyback have yet to be finalised, but it is expected to be the largest since the 1996 Port Arthur buyback, which was announced 12 days after that massacre. Prime Minister Anthony Albanese told Parliament before the vote: "The terrorists had hate in their hearts, but they also had high-powered rifles in their hands.

We’re taking action on both — tackling antisemitism, tackling hate, and getting dangerous guns off our streets." The bill passed easily in a special session in Canberra after lawmakers were recalled two weeks early from a summer break by Mr. Albanese, whose popularity has slumped since the Bondi attack.

Key Topics

World, Anthony Albanese, Bondi Beach Shooting, Australian Parliament, Port Arthur Massacre, Antisemitism