‘Change in threat’ driving major reforms to gun laws
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese says Australia’s gun laws need a major overhaul as they fail to keep pace with evolving security threats.
Federal, state and territory leaders have agreed urgent reforms to firearms legislation after 15 people were killed at Bondi Beach in the country’s worst mass shooting in nearly three decades.
In addition to restrictions on the import of 3D printed weapons, a ban on non-citizens from having a gun license is one of the measures being taken into consideration.
Australia’s current gun laws, implemented by then-Prime Minister John Howard after 35 people were shot to death during the Port Arthur massacre in 1996, are among the harshest in the world.
But Sunday’s attack on Jewish Hanukkah celebrations in Sydney has raised concerns about whether the laws are fit for purpose.
Mr Albanese said the gunmen – Naveed Akram, 24, and his father Sajid Akram, 50 – acted alone and were not part of a terrorist organisation.
Sajid, who was the licensed owner of six firearms, died at the scene after a brief clash with the police.
His son also remained in a coma in the hospital after being shot.
Mr Albanese said the ongoing anti-Semitism and far-right threat meant a new approach to gun safety was required.
“We live in a more dangerous world in 2025,” he told the ABC’s 7.30 programme.
“The threat of anti-Semitism is, as we have seen, very real.”
At Monday’s meeting of the national cabinet, federal and state leaders agreed to renegotiate Mr Howard’s groundbreaking national firearms treaty.
New limits on the number of guns any one person can own, as well as more frequent reviews of firearms licenses and tighter restrictions on gun modifications, are some of the measures being considered.
Under the changes, non-citizens will be prohibited from having a firearms license.
State and territory ministers also agreed to step up national gun registries, allowing police to better share information and thus allow firearms to be tracked across jurisdictions.
