Labor faces gun crackdown fight after shooting massacre
The Prime Minister faces a political fight to tighten gun controls following the country’s worst mass shooting since Port Arthur.
Anthony Albanese and state leaders have vowed to impose new restrictions on firearms after Sajid Akram and his son Naveed killed at least 15 people and injured dozens at a Jewish Hanukkah celebration at Bondi Beach on Sunday.
NSW Premier Chris Minns said he would introduce the strongest gun laws in the country and reminded parliament on Monday and Tuesday that it must quickly limit the number of guns individuals can own and reclassify some weapons such as shotguns.
The Prime Minister, through the national cabinet, is accelerating the creation of a central firearms register to increase intelligence sharing between jurisdictions.
It also tasked states and territories with drafting laws that would limit gun ownership and would also be tied to Australian citizenship.
But the federal opposition and former Liberal prime minister John Howard, who promoted Australia’s groundbreaking gun laws after the Port Arthur massacre in 1996, accused federal Labor of inaction on antisemitism and said the focus on firearms was a distraction.
Finance Minister Jim Chalmers rejected the suggestion that one was being prioritized over the other.
“It’s not one or two, we don’t have the capacity to deal with two evils at the same time, we have a responsibility to deal with both evils at the same time,” he said on Wednesday.
Labor faces more opposition from the coalition, and particularly the National Party, than Mr Howard did in 1996, when the then National Party chairman Tim Fischer supported a crackdown on guns.
Nationals leader David Littleproud said existing firearms laws were not a problem as restrictions were already world class.
“If you’re determined to go to Bondi Beach and slaughter innocent Australians, you’ll find a way to find a weapon, whether it’s a gun, a knife, a vehicle, a bomb,” he told ABC radio.
Nationals leading figure Ross Cadell said sensible gun reforms such as a national gun register and limiting ownership to Australian citizens would be considered.
But limits on the number of firearms people can legally own and changes to the grounds for gun ownership could face opposition from the regional party.
“There are valid reasons for multiple guns,” Senator Cadell told AAP, pointing to pest control operators needing different firearms for different animals.
Gun reduction advocates have called for eliminating the recreational hunting license category and placing more restrictions on high-capacity guns.
The Invasive Species Council also called for greater oversight of pest control, while chairman Jack Gough said there was no evidence that recreational hunting was effectively reducing wildlife populations.
Lifeline 13 11 14
beyondblue 1300 22 4636
