The Australian Parliament has approved reforms to gun control laws and anti-hate speech legislation to prevent another tragedy like the one at Bondi Beach.
On Tuesday, 20 Jan 2026 GMT+7, the Australian Parliament voted to approve major gun control reforms and crack down on Hate Speech measures, one month after two attackers killed 15 people at a Jewish festival at Bondi Beach.
Both bills were approved by the House of Representatives and Senate during a special late-night session on Tuesday. The gun reform measures include a national gun buyback program and new, stricter procedures for firearms license applications.
Tony Burke, Australia's Minister for Home Affairs, said that the Bondi shooter would not have been able to legally access firearms if this law had been in effect before the country's worst mass shooting in decades.
Regarding the anti-hate speech legislation, Labor Party senators, who form the government, received support from Liberal Party representatives, while other opposition parties abstained from voting.
Following the December mass shooting, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese faced intense pressure amid accusations that the government had not taken sufficient measures to prevent the attack, occurring amid rising anti-Jewish sentiment in Australia's Jewish communities.
The gun reform bill, passed by the House of Representatives by 96 to 45 votes, includes stricter controls on firearm imports and requirements to improve intelligence sharing between agencies about individuals seeking firearms licenses.
Burke stated that the gun buyback program will target "excess firearms and newly restricted gun types" to reduce the number of registered guns in the country, which currently stands at around 4 million.
He added that most Australians would be shocked to learn that the country currently has more firearms than before the Port Arthur massacre in Tasmania in 1996, where a gunman killed 35 people.
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Source:bbc