Australia's PM Pushes National Cabinet on Tougher Gun Laws After Bondi Terror Attack
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Prime Minister Anthony Albanese will ask state and territory leaders to back sweeping gun law reforms at an emergency National Cabinet meeting today, calling for limits on how many firearms one person can own and mandatory license reviews after a terror attack at Bondi left two police officers seriously injured.
The Push for Change
Hours after a deadly terror attack at Sydney’s Bondi Pavilion, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese announced he’s putting gun law reform on the agenda of an emergency National Cabinet meeting.
“The government is prepared to take whatever action is necessary,” Albanese said at a press conference on the day after the attack. “Included in that is the need for tougher gun laws.”
The reforms he’s proposing include three key changes: limits on how many guns a single person can be licensed to own, mandatory periodic reviews of gun licenses, and stronger background checks.
“People’s circumstances change. People can be radicalised over a period of time,” Albanese said. “Licenses should not be in perpetuity.”
What Is the National Cabinet?
The National Cabinet is where Australia’s Prime Minister meets with all state and territory premiers and chief ministers to agree on national policies. Gun laws are split between federal and state jurisdictions, meaning both levels of government need to be on the same page to make nationwide changes.
Why This Matters Right Now
The push comes after it emerged that the father of one of the attackers legally owned six firearms. The son, who carried out the attack alongside his father, had been on ASIO’s (Australia’s domestic intelligence agency) radar since October 2019 due to concerning “associations.”
When asked whether the intelligence agency’s interest in the son should have triggered a review of his father’s gun license, Albanese didn’t directly answer, saying only that he has “full support for our security agencies.”
Journalists pressed on this point repeatedly during the press conference. One asked directly: “Should they have told police so that someone could investigate whether a close relative of his license had firearms?”
Albanese responded: “Part of making sure that they can do their job is making sure that information is brought out in the way in which we are doing it right now.”
The National Firearms Register: Still Not Finished
Albanese also revealed Australia still doesn’t have a complete National Firearms Register — something his government has been working on.
“Before us, there wasn’t a National Firearms Register. That’s the point,” he said. “In some cases, some state jurisdictions still had paper identification.”
When asked if the register could move faster, Albanese said: “We will do it as soon as we can.”
The lack of a unified system became an issue after a 2022 incident in Queensland, where a terrorist killed two police officers using firearms. In that case, key information wasn’t transferred across state boundaries.
Australia’s Gun Law History
Australia’s current gun laws date back to 1996, when Prime Minister John Howard introduced sweeping reforms after the Port Arthur massacre in Tasmania, which killed 35 people. Those reforms included a mandatory buyback of semi-automatic weapons and strict licensing requirements.
The laws are widely credited with dramatically reducing gun deaths in Australia. When asked if the country had “gotten complacent” since then, Albanese didn’t directly respond but emphasized: “If we need to toughen these up, if there’s anything we can do, I’m certainly up for it.”
What’s Different This Time
Unlike some policy debates that drag on for months, this is moving fast. The National Cabinet meeting was scheduled for the same afternoon as the press conference. Albanese said he would “task work to be done” and that NSW Premier Chris Minns had already committed to reviewing state laws.
Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke confirmed his department “will stand ready for any of the outcomes that come out of the meeting of National Cabinet today with respect to the work that needs to be done on gun laws.”
What Happens Next
The National Cabinet meeting takes place today at 4pm. Outcomes will determine whether Australia moves toward a national standard on gun ownership limits and license review periods.
Both state and federal agencies will be tasked with examining what changes are possible. Any significant reforms would require agreement from multiple jurisdictions.
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