National cabinet agrees to sweeping overhaul of Australia’s gun laws in response to Bondi massacre |
Federal, state and territory governments have agreed to the biggest overhaul of Australia’s gun laws since the Howard government’s post-Port Arthur reforms, in a response to the Bondi massacre that has claimed the lives of 15 victims so far and one of the perpetrators.
After a late Monday afternoon meeting of national cabinet, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese announced the leaders had commissioned police ministers and attorneys-general to develop options for extensive changes. These include:
accelerating work on standing up the National Firearms Register
allowing for additional use of criminal intelligence to underpin firearms licensing that can be used in administrative licensing regimes
limiting the number of firearms to be held by any one individual
limiting open-ended firearms licensing and the types of guns that are legal, including modifications and,
a condition of a firearm license is holding Australian citizenship.
Albanese said, in a statement after national cabinet, leaders had agreed “that strong, decisive and focused action was needed on gun law reform as an immediate action”.
This included “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”.
As an immediate priority, the federal government will prepare further customs restrictions for the import of firearms and other weapons. This will include 3D printing, novel........