Australian lawmakers have passed tougher gun and hate crime laws following last month’s mass shooting at a Jewish Hanukkah celebration at Sydney’s Bondi Beach.
Australian lawmakers have passed tougher laws on hate crimes and gun violence following last month’s mass shooting at a Jewish festival at Sydney’s Bondi Beach.
On Tuesday, the House of Representatives approved legislation introducing a national gun buyback scheme, stricter gun licence checks and stronger measures to curb hate crimes. Lawmakers in both houses backed the reforms in response to the December 14 attack at one of Sydney’s most iconic beaches.
Deadly attack at Hanukkah celebration
Fifteen people, most of them Jewish, were killed when two gunmen opened fire during a Hanukkah celebration. The attackers were later disarmed by Ahmed al-Ahmed, a Muslim man widely hailed as a hero.
Australian authorities have said the suspected attackers, Sajid Akram and his son Naveed, were inspired by the ISIL (ISIS) group.
Government calls for ‘comprehensive response’
Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke said the attack was carried out by individuals with “hate in their hearts and guns in their hands”, adding that it demanded “a comprehensive response from government”.
“As a government, we must do everything we can to counter both the motivation and the method,” Burke said.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese told parliament that the government was acting on both fronts.
“The terrorists had hate in their hearts, but they also had high-powered rifles in their hands,” Albanese said. “We are taking action on both — tackling antisemitism and hate, and getting dangerous guns off our streets.”
National reckoning over antisemitism
The shooting has sparked a period of national soul-searching, anger over failures to protect Jewish Australians, and renewed calls for tougher legislation to prevent similar attacks.
The reforms on guns and hate speech were voted on separately and must still be approved by the Senate, which was expected to take up the legislation later in the day.
Tougher hate speech provisions
The hate speech legislation increases penalties for spreading hatred, radicalisation or promoting violence. It introduces aggravated offences for preachers, community leaders or adults seeking to radicalise children, and establishes a framework for designating organisations as prohibited hate groups.
The law also makes it easier to reject or cancel visas for individuals suspected of terrorism or of promoting hatred based on race, colour or origin.
National gun buyback and tighter checks
On firearms, the government plans to introduce a national gun buyback scheme, tighten controls on gun imports and expand background checks for gun licences, including allowing input from intelligence agencies.
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