Australia has announced a nationwide gun buyback scheme following the deadliest mass shooting in decades, a Bondi Beach attack that left 15 people dead and dozens injured. The buyback is the largest since a similar initiative was implemented after the 1996 Port Arthur massacre, which prompted significant gun control reforms.
Bondi Beach Attack and National Response
The attack on Sunday, which authorities have declared a terrorist incident, was allegedly carried out by a father-son duo. Naveed Akram, 24, has been charged with 59 offences, including 15 counts of murder and one count of committing a terrorist act. His father, Sajid, was killed during the attack. Police believe the gunmen were motivated by “Islamic State ideology.”
National cabinet, comprising representatives from the federal government and all states and territories, agreed to tighten gun controls in the wake of the shooting.
New Gun Control Measures
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese stated there are currently more than 4 million firearms in Australia, exceeding the number present at the time of the Port Arthur massacre. Australian Federal Police Commissioner Krissy Barrett emphasized the need for a buyback scheme to reduce the number of guns in circulation, noting that one of the alleged terrorists held a firearm licence and possessed six guns despite living in a suburban area.
The new buyback scheme will focus on purchasing surplus, newly banned, and illegal firearms, with funding shared equally between the federal government and the states and territories. The government estimates hundreds of thousands of firearms will be collected and destroyed.
In addition to the buyback, national cabinet agreed to impose limits on the number of firearms an individual can hold, restrict open-ended firearms licensing, and limit the types of guns that are legal. Australian citizenship will now be a condition of holding a firearm licence. Work will also be accelerated on a national firearms register, and firearm regulators will gain improved access to criminal intelligence.
Related Investigations
On Friday, New South Wales Police announced they were preparing to release seven men with extremist ideology who had been detained in Sydney. The men, who travelled from Victoria and were known to police there, were found with a knife but no firearms.
NSW Police Commissioner Mal Lanyon stated there was “no confirmed link” between the alleged terrorists and the detained group, but that Bondi Beach was among several locations the latter group had considered visiting. He added that the potential for a violent offence posed by the detained men was significant enough to warrant their initial detention.
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