Australian PM sparks debate with plan to strengthen hate speech laws after Bondi attack

Following the mass shooting on Bondi Beach during Hanukkah celebrations, 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 due to fears that the laws could be used as political weapons emerge. Critics also said neither the gun buyback nor the hate speech laws address the root of what led to the terrorist attack.

One of the directors of the Australian Free Speech Union, Dr. “It’s actually kind of difficult for them to strengthen the laws. It’s not clear what they’re proposing to do,” Reuben Kirkham told Fox News Digital. “What they will probably try and do is expand it to a range of things that have nothing to do with hate speech.”

Albanese told reporters on Friday that the government was working to “get the law right” and acknowledged the complexities involved. “There are free speech issues involved in this; we want to make sure these laws don’t get passed and then overturned,” he said.

SENATORS TED CRUZ AND JOHN FETTERMAN ADMIT ABOUT HATTING A ‘VILLAIN’ DURING BILATERAL INTERVIEW

The proposed changes include charges of “aggravated hate speech” and racially motivated “serious libel” against preachers who incite violence. Australian Broadcasting Corporation reported. Just 10 months ago, the government strengthened federal hate speech laws in an effort to curb antisemitism and Islamophobia, the publication noted.

Simultaneously, New South Wales (NSW), where the terrorist attack took place, is considering banning chants of the phrase “globalize the intifada”, which many see as an antisemitic call for violence against Jews. The ban will also apply to public displays of ISIS flags and extremist symbols.

Additionally, NSW Premier Chris Minns said the ban would give police more powers to demand protesters remove their face masks during demonstrations. Associated Press.

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

THOUSANDS GATHERED AS BONDI BEACH REOPENED TO MEMORATE THE VICTIM OF THE HANUKKAH ATTACK

Kirkham told Fox News Digital that existing anti-defamation laws are already used to block speech that opposes the government’s views. He believes that if these laws are strengthened following the attack on Bondi Beach, they will be used as political weapons rather than protecting ordinary people. Additionally, Kirkham said he sees this as the government using the attack as an opportunity to pass legislation that aligns with its views.

Additionally, Kirkham argues that Albanese’s proposal could increase antisemitism rather than end it.

“Basically what they’re saying is: ‘We need more censorship laws. Why? Apparently to protect the Jewish people.’ So they’re saying to these communities: ‘We’re censoring you to protect the Jews.’ So how will this decrease? “Will this improve the problem of antisemitism or make it worse?”

While the Australian government focuses its response on hate speech and gun laws, critics like Kirkham say the Bondi Beach attack reveals intelligence failures.

Albanese said on Friday that intelligence showed the attack on Bondi Beach was actually inspired by ISIS.

“We have been informed that the Director of National Intelligence has detected a steady stream of online video feeds from ISIS, which reinforces that this was an ISIS-inspired attack. Further study of motivation has been carried out by security agencies and we will continue to meet with them and provide any support they need at this difficult time,” Albanese said. he told reporters.

Fox News Digital has reached out to Albanese’s office for comment.

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

FAMILIES MOURN THEIR LOVED ONES LOST IN THE TERRORIST ATTACK IN BONDI BAHIL: ‘NO WORDS CAN EXPLAIN THE PAIN’

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

“The problem here is that there is a radical Islamist ideology that spans the spectrum from political Islam to the Muslim Brotherhood to Hamas to Palestinian terrorist groups to Al Qaeda and the Islamic State, and we in the West refuse to do that and have refused from the very beginning, since 9/11,” Roggio said. “We don’t want to accept that there is a real problem within Islam, not with Islam, but within Islam itself.”

As authorities investigated the shooting, the focus turned to the father-son gunman’s trip to the Philippines just before the Bondi Beach shooting.

GV Hotel in Davao City said the men made their accommodation reservations through a third party and were originally scheduled to arrive on Nov. 15 but arrived on Nov. 1 instead. According to Reuters. An employee told Reuters the pair booked the room for seven days but extended their stay three times and paid in cash. The hotel employee also said the men had little interaction with staff and had no visitors.

Philippine National Police Brigadier General. General Leon Victor Rosete, police chief of Davao region, said: protector He said the old gunman was interested in firearms. He also mentioned the gunmen’s “running walk” captured on CCTV, adding that the pair appeared to be doing “physical conditioning” exercises.

“His father showed an interest in firearms. He went into a firearms shop,” Rosete told the Guardian. He later said that they did not visit any shooting ranges in Davao.

Split photo shows an ISIS flag held by masked men (left) and a crime scene guarded by police following a shooting at Bondi Beach in Australia. (Tauseef Mustafa/David Gray/AFP via Getty Images)

VIEWERS SEE AN AUSTRALIAN GUNMAN DURING A DEADLY ISIS-INSPIRED ATTACK

Davao City is located on the island of Mindanao, which has been under a “Level 3: Reconsider Travel” advisory since May. But, Ministry of Foreign Affairs He said Davao City is an advisory exception in addition to a few other places.

Roggio told Fox News Digital that Mindanao is a place “known to be a hotbed of Islamist groups.”

“If they weren’t in the actual camps to receive training, they might have been getting 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 may have received additional “brainwashing” while in the Philippines.

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

CLICK TO DOWNLOAD FOX NEWS APPLICATION

“More than three weeks is not enough time to become a highly efficient two-man fire team, but it’s clear they’ve had enough training to make it happen,” Roggio said.

Debate continues over the government’s response as authorities try to piece together how and why the Bondi Beach attack occurred; critics warn that a band-aid solution will not solve the root of the problem.