Australia is set to launch a national gun buyback scheme in response to the Bondi Beach terrorist shootings.
Fifteen people were killed and dozens wounded on Sunday at the Sydney beach after two gunmen opened fire at people celebrating Hanukkah, the Jewish festival of lights.
In the aftermath of the shooting, which authorities say appears to have been inspired by the Islamic State, patrols and policing across the country have been ramped up in an effort to prevent further violence.
Both the federal government and the state government of New South Wales, where Sydney is located, have pledged reforms, including tightening gun control laws, to prevent the threat of further violence in a nation with an estimated four million firearms.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has said the government would also strengthen hate laws. Announcing the gun buyback scheme, he cited the response to a previous Australian mass shooting – when a lone gunman killed 35 people in Tasmania’s Port Arthur in 1996.
“Australia’s gun laws were last substantially reformed in the wake of the Port Arthur tragedy,” Mr Albanese said on Friday. “The terrible events at Bondi show we need to get more guns off our streets.”
On Friday, Australia’s Jewish community gathered at Bondi Beach for prayers, while hundreds of swimmers and surfers made a huge circle in the sea to honour the victims.
“Over the past two years, there’s been a lot of people who have been questioning whether we’re still welcome here in Australia because we saw people calling for our death on the streets on a weekly basis,” Rabbi Yosef Eichenblatt from Sydney’s Central Synagogue told ABC News, after attending the paddle-out tribute.
Funerals for the victims also continued today, with Boris and Sofia Gurman, a couple killed after attempting to stop one of the gunmen, being laid to rest.
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Meanwhile, Ahmed al Ahmed, the hero who wrestled a gun from one of the alleged gunmen, was handed a cheque for more than A$2.5m (£1.23m) from an online fundraiser.
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One of the Bondi terrorists – Sajid Akram, 50, who was killed at the scene – held a firearm licence and had six guns registered.
If a man in Sydney’s suburbs needs “six high-powered rifles and is able to get them under existing licensing schemes, then there’s something wrong,” Mr Albanese said.
He said the government would work with states to target surplus, newly banned and illegal firearms, adding that the costs would be shared between the federal and state governments.
New South Wales Premier Chris Minns announced on Friday the state government would be recalled next week to enact the “toughest gun law reforms in the country”.
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Changes would include limiting firearms to four per person, tightening licensing requirements and restricting access to high-risk weapons and components.
Following the 1996 Port Arthur massacre, Australia secured the surrender of about 640,000 prohibited firearms nationwide. The total cost of compensation to owners was about A$304m (£150m).
Mr Albanese has faced pressure from critics who say his centre-left government has not done enough to deal with a surge in antisemitism since the start of the war in Gaza.
The government said it had consistently called out antisemitism over the last two years and passed legislation to criminalise hate speech.
