NSW Parliament Recalled To Discuss Tighter Gun Laws After Bondi Attack

Following the heartbreaking terror attack on Bondi Beach last Sunday, the NSW Parliament has been recalled to discuss new gun law regulations in the state this coming Monday.

NSW Premier Chris Minns has recalled the state Parliament, and is expected to present them new and strict gun law proposals on Monday, which could form the basis for national reforms and regulations.

It has been proposed that with the new laws, which have yet to be developed, only Australian citizens will be able to hold a license, and a cap limiting the amount of firearms an individual can own is also being considered among other things.

It has also been insinuated that people who have been granted a gun license will now also be required to have their license reevaluated regularly.

The Australian Gun Safety Alliance, made up of Australia’s leading public-health, community-safety and firearm-harm prevention organisations, have also released a ten-point blueprint for gun reform, sharing their suggestions for further regulations. 

The 50-year-old shooter, Sajid Akram, who wasn’t an Australian citizen, died after an open fire confrontation with NSW police, and had been a licensed gun owner in Australia for over a decade. He had six registered firearms in his name to which some were used to execute the attack on the Jewish community on Bondi this past Sunday. 

Broad agreement for further tightening of current gun laws

NSW Premier Minns has since Sunday’s tragedy been clear that even though the current gun laws are tight, his government wants to tighten them even further.

“I’m determined to introduce the toughest gun legislation in the country and I believe it needs to be passed and put into legislation as soon as possible,” he said in a press conference on Tuesday.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese agreed with the premier, and added that he along with the Chair of the Council of Australian Federation will work together to strengthen Australia’s gun laws.

“The very nature of our gun laws means that they are only as strong as the weakest link, which is why we want to make sure that they followed Premier Minn’s lead in committing to strengthening the [current] gun laws,” Albanese said.

NSW Greens MP Sue Higginson said her party were also willing to work with the Government and the Opposition to pass world-leading strong gun law reform through the NSW Parliament,

“The guns used to inflict the horrifying antisemitic killings and violence on Bondi beach should never have been in the hands of the hate fuelled depraved shooters and the fact that they were, is a failing of our gun laws and their implementation,” Higginson said.

Additionally, NSW Opposition Leader Kellie Sloane also expressed support of new gun regulations in the state, and told The Australian Financial Review, that she would like to see a new reform as a “bipartisan issue”.

“Anything to tighten gun laws and protect our community must be considered, though we haven’t seen what that looks like yet,” she added.

The current gun laws in NSW do not require an applicant to be an Australian citizen, however, when applying for a license, a background check to ensure no criminal background will be made, and the person applying must also pass a ‘fit and proper’ test.

The NSW Police describe that a person “must be of good character, be law abiding, honest, and show good judgement”, in order to pass this test. Safety courses, strict storage demands and a ‘genuine reason’ for the gun licence are also required.

Federally, Australia already has some of the strictest gun laws in the world which were inserted in 1996 as a result of the Port Arthur massacre, when 35 people were killed by gunman Martin Bryant in Tasmania.