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Australia planning to tighten gun laws after deadly Bondi Beach shooting
Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese convened an urgent meeting of the national cabinet following the attack.
Australia is reportedly planning to make gun laws more stringent after Sunday's deadly Bondi Beach attack in Sydney, which left 15 people dead, marking the country's deadliest shooting in the last three decades.
Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese convened an urgent meeting of the national cabinet on Monday, which authorities have described as the deadliest terrorist incident in Australian history.
Leaders of Australia’s states and territories agreed to strengthen gun laws nationwide in response, according to a report by The Guardian.
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Australian government on tighter gun laws
“The Howard government’s gun laws have made an enormous difference in Australia and a proud moment of reform, quite rightly, achieved across the Parliament with bipartisan support. If we need to toughen these up, if there’s anything we can do, I’m certainly up for it,” Albanese said ahead of the meeting, according to the report.
The Australian cabinet also pledged to “eradicate anti-semitism, hate, violence and terrorism”, amid mounting pressure on the prime minister from the federal opposition, Jewish community leaders and his own anti-semitism envoy, Jillian Segal, to take stronger action against anti-Jewish hate.
Following the meeting, Albanese’s office said leaders had agreed to examine measures including tougher background checks for firearm owners, barring non-nationals from obtaining gun licences, and restricting the types of weapons that can be legally owned, according to AFP.
Mass shootings have been rare in Australia since the 1996 Port Arthur massacre, in which a lone gunman killed 35 people.
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What happened at Bondi Beach?
The attack took place on Sunday evening as crowds gathered at Bondi Beach to mark the start of Hanukkah.
Two individuals - identified as a father-son duo - opened fire on the packed beachfront, triggering panic as people fled across the popular tourist area.
A 10-year-old girl, a Holocaust survivor and a local rabbi were among those killed. At least 42 others were taken to hospital with gunshot wounds and other injuries.
The gunmen targeted the annual celebration, which drew more than 1,000 people to the beach.
They opened fire from a raised boardwalk overlooking the shore, which was crowded with swimmers on a hot summer evening.
