Australia is planning a gun buyback program following the mass shooting at the Bondi Beach Hanukkah celebration
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Australia will launch a national gun buyback program after the deadly attack at a Hanukkah celebration on Sydney’s Bondi Beach last weekend, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said on Friday.
“We expect that hundreds of thousands of guns will be collected and destroyed through this program,” Albanese said at a press conference.
The refund would be similar to gun reforms introduced immediately after the 1996 massacre in Tasmania’s Port Arthur after a lone gunman killed 35 people, prompting authorities to implement some of the strictest gun laws in the world.
“Australia’s gun laws were last changed after the Port Arthur tragedy. The terrible events in Bondi show that we need to get more guns off our streets,” Albanese said during a press conference.
Fifteen people were killed and scores injured on Sunday after two gunmen opened fire on people celebrating Hanukkah, the Jewish festival of lights.
The 50-year-old gunman, who was killed at the scene, had a firearms license and six registered firearms, prompting criticism that Australia’s gun laws need to be reformed.
There are approximately four million guns in the country right now, Albanese said.
The government will target the remaining, newly banned and illegal firearms, at a cost that will be shared between the federal and state governments, he said.
Following the Port Arthur massacre, Australia announced a gun buyback program and secured the surrender of approximately 640,000 illegal firearms across the country. The total cost of compensation to owners was estimated at $304 million Aus. ($277 million Cdn).
Neighboring New Zealand has announced major gun reforms, including plans to take back guns, after the 2019 Christchurch terror attack.
As memorials continue for the 15 people who died in the mass shooting at Bondi Beach in Sydney, Australia, stories of courage are being shared about the few victims who spoke out against their attackers. Meanwhile, questions are being raised about the trip to the Philippines taken by the suspected shooters.
The pressure to deal with antisemitism
Albanese, under pressure from critics who say his left-wing government is not doing enough to stem the rise of sectarianism since the Gaza war began, said the government would further tighten hate speech laws.
The government said it had been consistently condemning anti-Semitism for the past two years and passed legislation criminalizing hate speech. It expelled the Iranian ambassador after accusing Tehran of orchestrating two antisemitic attacks.
Authorities said Sunday’s shooting appears to have been inspired by ISIS, and police have stepped up patrols and patrols in an effort to prevent further violence.
Late on Thursday, police said they stopped two vehicles and arrested seven men in Sydney’s south-west after receiving information about “potential violence.”
New South Wales State Police Commissioner, Mal Lanyon, said the men could be released soon after checking that they pose no known threat, and officers will continue to monitor them.
Lanyon said police were unwilling to take any risks after suspecting the group were planning to visit Bondi.
There was no “confirmed connection” between the detainees and the two Bondi gunmen, but they may have shared ideas, he added. ISIS called the Bondi shooting “a source of pride,” in an article published on the group’s Telegram channel, although it did not publicly claim responsibility.
Police and extra security have been deployed at the Lakemba mosque, one of Australia’s largest, ahead of Friday prayers, Australian media reported.
A suspect who survived a shooting at Bondi Beach in Sydney has been charged with 59 offences, including 15 counts of murder and one count of terrorism, police said on Wednesday. Naveed Akram, 24, was seriously injured during the incident and was charged after coming out of a coma. His father Sajid Akram, 50, was shot dead by the police at the scene.
Swimmers, divers pay tribute to Bondi victims
Australia’s Jewish community gathered at Sydney’s Bondi Beach on Friday for a prayer service, while hundreds of swimmers and divers formed a large circle in the beach’s waters to honor the victims.
Community leaders described the support as especially touching amid rising fears over the rise in anti-cultural incidents.
“In the last two years, there have been many people who have been asking if we are still welcome here in Australia because we have seen people calling for our death in the streets every week,” Rabbi Yosef Eichenblatt of Sydney’s Central Synagogue told ABC News, after attending the rowing event.
“So it’s been really nice to see the outpouring of love and support. It’s really healing.”
