Following the December 14 Bondi attack, which resulted in 15 fatalities, the Australian federal government has enacted new gun control and anti-hate legislation and announced a national Royal Commission into antisemitism and social cohesion. The federal parliament was recalled early to expedite these measures. While federal gun law reforms have passed, some states have indicated they will not participate in the proposed national gun buyback scheme, opting instead for their own legislative responses.
Federal Royal Commission on Antisemitism and Social Cohesion
Calls for a national inquiry into antisemitism and the December 14 attack emerged from various groups, including victims' families, former Labor Members of Parliament, and the Law Council of Australia. Opposition Leader Sussan Ley consistently advocated for a Commonwealth royal commission, emphasizing the need for terms of reference to involve victims' families.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese initially cautioned that a royal commission could cause division and delay urgent actions, favoring a four-part strategy that included reviews of intelligence agencies, hate speech reforms, cooperation with a New South Wales royal commission, and implementation of recommendations from Jillian Segal's antisemitism review. However, his position evolved, and he later announced the establishment of a national Royal Commission.
This commission is tasked with examining the circumstances surrounding the Bondi attack and other related issues, with a focus on antisemitism and social cohesion.
Former High Court judge Virginia Bell was appointed as the sole commissioner.
Opposition Leader Sussan Ley criticized the government's handling of the inquiry, citing "delay, weakness and resistance" and describing the appointment of a sole commissioner as "inadequate." She also expressed that the Coalition's proposed model was not selected and demanded that Labor ministers be subjected to cross-examination during the inquiry. Antisemitism envoy Jillian Segal and Jewish community leaders have called for support for the inquiry and national unity.
Federal Legislative Reforms
The federal parliament was recalled ahead of its scheduled February 3 resumption to consider new hate speech and gun control legislation in response to the attack.
Hate Speech Legislation
Initial legislative proposals included creating an offense for leaders promoting violence, a system to list organizations engaging in hate speech, outlawing "serious vilification" based on race, and a new aggravated offense for radicalizing children. The Attorney General Michelle Rowland noted that nearly half of the 33 individuals facing terrorism charges were minors. The proposed "Combating Antisemitism, Hate and Extremism Bill" included a new federal offense for publicly promoting or inciting racial hatred, with potential penalties of up to five years imprisonment, and a specific defense for quoting religious texts for teaching or discussion. It also proposed a prohibited hate-group listing regime, with penalties for membership and leadership roles.
However, the government later withdrew the proposed offenses for inciting racial hatred due to insufficient support from the Coalition and the Greens in the Senate.
The revised anti-hate bill, which successfully passed both the House of Representatives and the Senate, includes strengthening penalties for threatening violence against protected groups, proscribing hate groups, and granting the Home Affairs Minister increased powers to cancel or refuse visas.
The Liberal Party supported the modified bill, while the National Party abstained, and the Greens voted against it, citing concerns about its potential impact on political debate and protest. The legislation will undergo biennial review by a parliamentary joint committee, with the opposition consulted on the listing and delisting of extremist organizations.
Gun Control Measures
The federal government introduced legislation for a national gun buyback scheme, with costs to be equally shared with states and territories.
This scheme targets "surplus and newly restricted firearms" to reduce the approximately four million registered guns in the country, noting that Australia currently possesses more firearms than before the 1996 Port Arthur attack.
Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke stated that had such legislation been in place, individuals involved in the Bondi attack would not have legally accessed firearms. The father of one alleged perpetrator reportedly legally owned six firearms.
Additional measures in the federal gun control legislation, which also passed both houses of parliament, include:
- Stricter import controls on assisted-repeating and straight-pull firearms, belt feeders, magazines over 30 rounds, firearm suppressors, and speed loaders.
- More stringent Australian citizenship requirements for firearm importers.
- Expanded federal firearms background checks, integrating civilian gun licensing into the AusCheck system.
- Authorization for intelligence agencies like ASIO and the Australian Criminal Intelligence Commission (ACIC) to provide information for assessing a gun license applicant's public safety risk, based on risk rather than conviction, allowing for the use of spent, quashed, or historical convictions.
The passage of these reforms marks the most significant changes to Australia's gun laws since the 1996 Port Arthur attack.
State-Level Responses and Divergence
While the federal gun control measures have been enacted, participation in the proposed national gun buyback scheme has been met with varied responses from state and territory governments.
Non-Participation in National Buyback
Queensland, the Northern Territory, and Tasmania have indicated they will not participate in the federal government's proposed national gun buyback scheme. This contrasts with the unanimous support received for the 1996 national buyback program.
Queensland Premier David Crisafulli stated that a national gun buyback "doesn't address antisemitism and hate and it doesn't focus on keeping guns out of the hands of terrorists and criminals."
He affirmed Queensland's focus on its own legislative responses. Prime Minister Albanese expressed disagreement with Queensland's position, stating it was not "in the interests of Queenslanders or the nation," and advocated for national uniform gun laws. The families of Constables Rachel McCrow and Matthew Arnold, who were murdered in the 2022 Wieambilla shootings, expressed full support for the federal gun law tightening and the national buyback scheme, urging inter-party cooperation. Conversely, the Shooters Union Australia president approved Queensland's opposition to the buyback.
State Legislative Actions
Queensland: The Queensland government plans to introduce its own legislation, including a mandate that gun owners must be Australian citizens, with exemptions for sporting shooters and primary producers, applying to future applications. The reforms also propose increased penalties for gun theft (up to 14 years imprisonment) and trafficking unlawful weapons (potentially life imprisonment), new offenses for possessing 3D-printed gun blueprints and drive-by shootings (with mandatory minimum sentences, particularly targeting places of worship), upgraded storage requirements (including mandatory steel safes), and expanded criteria for assessing weapons licence applications, allowing police to consider an applicant's history of violence or weapons-related offenses. Premier Crisafulli stated the state would not implement limits on the number or type of firearms per licence holder.
The state also intends to introduce hate speech legislation that would grant the Attorney General authority to ban specific slogans, such as the "from the river to the sea" chant, and create a new offense for public distribution or display of proscribed phrases causing menace, harassment, or offense, carrying a maximum two-year jail sentence.
Civil liberties groups and the Greens have criticized this hate speech legislation as "Orwellian" and a challenge to free speech.
New South Wales:
New South Wales has already enacted laws limiting firearms for individuals (typically four) and for farmers/sports shooters (up to ten). It also passed an omnibus counter-terror bill limiting firearm licenses to Australian citizens and allowing police to ban protests after terrorism incidents.
Australian Capital Territory: The ACT government is reviewing its firearms legislation, considering reforms such as implementing a cap on individual firearm ownership, reviewing firearm categorization, and updating licensing requirements for advancements like 3D-printed firearms. The ACT also plans to strengthen its anti-vilification laws, potentially introducing criminal penalties for hate speech in extreme instances.
Western Australia: Western Australia has implemented stringent gun laws and advocated for national unity on firearms reform.
WA Police Minister Reece Whitby reported that 83,764 firearms have been removed from circulation in Western Australia over the past two years through six buyback programs, representing a 24 percent reduction in the state's total firearm count.
Western Australia has not committed to an even split of costs for a future Commonwealth buyback.