Bondi Beach terror attack: Albanese, Minns vow to stamp out anti-Semitism as Ley says they let it fester

Only Australian citizens will be allowed to hold gun licences and limits are likely on how many firearms they can own after the nation’s leaders agreed to a country-wide crackdown on gun ownership in the wake of the Bondi Beach attack.

It comes as Anthony Albanese vowed to do whatever is necessary to stamp out anti-Semitism in the wake of the mass shooting at a Jewish community event on Sunday.

But the Opposition has accused the Prime Minister and his Government of allowing anti-Semitism to fester unchecked in Australia and using gun laws as a diversion.

Fifteen people were killed on Sunday evening and dozens more are in hospital after two gunmen opened fire on a Chanukah celebration at the iconic location.

One of the perpetrators, 50-year-old Sajid Akram, is also dead and the other, his 24-year-old son Naveed Akram, is in hospital. Both men were from Bonnyrigg in Sydney’s south-west.

The father had a firearms licence, was a member of a gun club and owned six legal weapons.

Mr Albanese took a plan for tougher gun laws to a National Cabinet meeting on Monday afternoon, including limits on how many guns people can own and regular reviews of licences.

“People’s circumstances change. People can be radicalised over a period of time. Licenses should not be in perpetuity,” the Prime Minister said ahead of the meeting.

“The Government is prepared to take whatever action is necessary. Included in that is the need for tougher gun laws.

“Quite clearly, the Howard government’s gun laws have made an enormous difference in Australia … If we need to toughen these up, if there’s anything we can do, I’m certainly up for it, and I hope to get National Cabinet on board for that.”

The leaders agreed that Western Australia – which implemented some of the toughest gun laws in the country in March – and NSW would lead the work.

Premier Roger Cook said he was proud to help lead the reform.

“National Cabinet’s decision to task Premier Minns and myself with leading reforms to Australia’s firearms laws is an important step and allows Western Australia to share its new laws with the rest of the nation,” he said.

The will draw up options looking at capping the number of firearms any individual can own, restricting which guns are legal, and making Australian citizenship a condition of holding a gun license.

The Commonwealth will also immediately start work on further restrictions on weapons imports, including 3D printing, novel technology and firearms equipment that can hold large amounts of ammunition.

“Leaders agreed that strong, decisive and focused action was needed on gun law reform as an immediate action, including renegotiating the National Firearms Agreement, first established after the 1996 Port Arthur tragedy, to ensure it remains as robust as possible in today’s changing security environment,” they said in a joint statement.

A national firearm register is already in train after changes made following the December 2022 shooting of two police officers in Queensland town Wieambilla.

However, the register won’t be fully up and running until mid-2028, and leaders pledged to see if this could be fast-tracked.

WA’s new gun laws include caps on how many firearms a person can own, limits on ammunition, and mandatory mental health checks for licenses.

NSW Premier Chris Minns said on Monday he was looking at how his State could also toughen its laws in a way that had “lasting impact”.

Mr Albanese said he wanted all leaders to discuss the matter “to make sure that we’re all completely on the same page” about new restrictions.

The Prime Minister described the terror attack as “an act of pure evil, an act of anti-Semitism” that was deliberately targeted at the Jewish community.

“The Jewish community are hurting today. Today, all Australians wrap our arms around them and say, we stand with you,” he said.

“We will do whatever is necessary to stamp out antisemitism. It is a scourge and we will eradicate it together.

“Australia will never submit to division, violence or hatred and we will come through this together. We refuse to let them divide us as a nation.”

Opposition Leader Sussan Ley said the Government hadn’t heeded the warning signs over the past two years or done enough to tackle anti-Semitism.

“There is anger. There is palpable anger, because anti-Semitism in Australia has been left to fester,” she said.

“We have a government that sees anti-Semitism as a problem to be managed, not an evil that needs to be eradicated.

“Everything must change from today in how governments respond.”

She called on Mr Albanese to commit to implementing all the recommendations in anti-Semitism envoy Jillian Segal’s report, which was handed to the Government in July, and said the Opposition would “do whatever it takes to force the strongest possible action from governments to keep Australians safe, to keep Jewish Australians safe, and to secure justice”.

Mr Minns thanked people for the overwhelming public outrage at the attack and support for the Jewish community.

He said there should be no tolerance for racism or Jewish hatred.

“We need to be clear and unambiguous that we will fight it everywhere we see it, whether it’s destructive, horrible acts of violence or chants, mottos and internet posts on the internet,” he said.

“Wherever it is, we need to fight anti-Semitism. It is toxic. It is cancerous within a community. And as you can see from last night, it leads to devastating, devastating implications for the people of our country.”

Ms Segal, the anti-Semitism envoy, welcomed the calls to come together and embrace the Jewish community, but said that alone was not sufficient.

“We need more than embracing, we need to understand that this pure evil is anti-Semitism. It’s not random thoughts, it’s true anti-Semitism, which is the Australia that we cannot accept,” she told ABC radio.

“We have to do things about this.”

While there had been some progress on her blueprint to combat the problems, she now wanted to see politicians and leaders “approach that with new energy”.

Mr Albanese on Monday announced more funding for security for Jewish community facilities, support for the funerals of the Bondi victims including fast-tracking visas for overseas relatives, and help for local businesses to secure swift insurance payments.

Ms Segal had anticipated the Government’s initial response would be to strengthen security for Jewish institutions and community places, but said there needed to be a long-term strategy that dealt with education and online media as well.

She spoke with Mr Albanese on Monday morning, and the Prime Minister vowed to continue working with the community.

“Anti-Semitism is a scourge. It’s been around for a long period of time. We need to do whatever we can to stamp it out,” Mr Albanese said.

Former Liberal Treasurer Josh Frydenberg called for accountability from the Albanese Government, saying leaders had “failed their first and most fundamental duty to protect the safety of their citizens”.

“The news coming through by the hour of children losing their lives, of parents losing their lives, of Holocaust survivors losing their lives. Who is going to be accountable for this?” he told Sky News.

“Who is going to take personal responsibility for this?

“It starts with our Prime Minister, and it goes down through his ministers and everybody who is in a position of responsibility who has failed in their public duty to protect our citizens.”