Govt plans gun buyback scheme in response to beach killings
Australia is set to launch a national gun buyback scheme in response to the Bondi Beach terrorist shootings.
Fifteen people were killed, and dozens were wounded on Sunday at the Sydney beach after two gunmen opened fire at people celebrating Hanukkah, the Jewish festival of lights.
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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,” Albanese said.
“The terrible events at Bondi show we need to get more guns off our streets.”
On Friday, December 19, 2025, 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 have 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 every week,” 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.
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 can get them under existing licensing schemes, then there’s something wrong,” 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 that the state government would be recalled next week to enact the “toughest gun law reforms in the country”.
