Albanese announces national gun buyback scheme
Albanese has announced a national buyback scheme for firearms.
The government will establish a national gun buyback scheme to purchase surplus, newly banned and illegal firearms – the largest buyback since the Howard government initiated one in 1996.
Australia’s gun laws were substantially reformed after the Port Arthur tragedy. The terrible events at Bondi show we need to get more guns off our streets. We know that one of these terrorists held a firearm licence and had six guns, in spite of living in the middle of Sydney’s suburbs, at Bonnyrigg.
There’s no reason why someone in that situation needed that many guns. There are now more than 4 million firearms in Australia – more than at the time of the Port Arthur massacre nearly 30 years ago.
Key events
Lanyon:
I think as I said it before – Islamic extremist ideology is something we are looking at between them. There is no confirmed link between the men at Bondi and the seven men we detained yesterday.
NSW police commissioner Mal Laynon is speaking now. He says the seven men arrested have been released:
He seven men travelled from Victoria. Whilst this specific threat posed by the males is unknown, I can say that the potential of a violent offence being committed was such that we were not prepared to tolerate the risk and interdict accordingly.
The information received was that Bondi may have been one of a number of locations that the males were intending to attend, but the reason for attending is unknown. The justification for their ongoing detention no longer exists subject to a review of evidence.
They will continue to be monitored whilst in New South Wales and we will work closely with our Victorian and Commonwealth law enforcement partners.
Governor general says her job right now is to ensure Australians don’t ‘fall into division’
The governor general, Sam Mostyn, has returned to Bondi beach. She spoke to the media:
My job right now is to ensure the people of Australia are not inclined to fall into division.
This is a democracy that is strong and born of First Nations culture and British institutions, and the last 50 and 60 years of people coming from somewhere else to build a modern Australia.
I recently visited Holocaust survivors in Sydney to hear from them some months ago, and they were warning me to tell the story of the Holocaust and antisemitism, and I have been doing that the whole time I have been in my office.
Asked if the operation in south-west Sydney yesterday stopped another terrorist attack, Barrett said:
As I said, it is an active and ongoing matter and people are still in custody, so I won’t speak specifically to that.
What I will say is it as an example of the hyper environment we are operating in and an example that members of the public can be confident that police will take swift and decisive action. Yesterday afternoon was a clear example of that.
The PM:
There is something wrong with the licensing laws when this guy can have six high-powered rifles, which is why the government is acting.
Arrests in Liverpool an ‘ongoing and active matter’, AFP commissioner says
The federal police commissioner, Krissy Barrett, has been asked about the arrests last night, with reports that people with similar extremist ideology had driven from Victoria and were potentially going to visit Bondi. She says:
That is an ongoing and active matter … [police have] still got a number of people in custody. They did put a media statement now [and] Deputy Commissioner Hudson has done media interviews this morning.
I won’t go into further detail other than to confirm there was information passed to NSW police from partner agencies. I went confirm, this is a NSW police matter and ongoing and active.
The PM said he wants to work cooperatively on the new hate speech laws:
We’re going to make sure that we get the laws right. I take it to some of the previous comments that have been here as well, have gone to – why didn’t we do more? We want to make sure that the laws are got right, and we want to make sure as well that there is broad support for it across the board.
We will engage constructively. We will, when drafts are able to be achieved, for what is complex laws, because there are constitutional issues, there are issues of free speech involved in this as well.
PM chastises Coalition for history of saying anti-discrimination laws an attack on free speech
Asked if the PM should have moved sooner on hate speech laws, Albanese said they are the only government to act on this:
We introduced the first hate speech laws – we introduced the first hate speech laws that have been introduced in Australia. We’re the first government to outlaw Nazi symbols. We inherited a situation where – I’ve been in this building a long time.
For a lot of the time, I’ve been defending the existing anti-discrimination laws, which the Coalition, for long period of time, said was an attack on freedom of speech and tried to remove them.
‘There’s something wrong’ with current firearms laws, PM says
The PM has been asked what his message would be to owners of firearms who do not want to give them up?
My message is that, in 1996, the then-Howard government did the right thing. Intervened to have a scheme which Australians have been rightly proud of. We need to go further. My message is that the issue of someone involved as a sporting shooter like Dan Repacholi is quite rightly proud of his representation of Australia.
And he is a great local member, but he has a proud record going back. But if a bloke in Bonnyrigg needs six high-powered rifles and is able to get them under existing licensing schemes, then there’s something wrong. I think Australians can see that.
Changes ‘will make it easier for the AFP to take action quicker’, commissioner says
Barrett:
The announcement today to boost the numbers of our hate disrupters, as well as planned changes to lower the threshold for hate speech, will make it easier for the AFP to take action quicker.
It could be the difference between us just knocking on a door to warn an individual, to an individual being placed in handcuffs. Finally, if I could make these observations – as funerals for the Bondi beach victims continue, I offer my sincere condolences on behalf of the AFP.
National security investigations teams a ‘fly-in squad of hate disrupters’
Barrett:
When I became commissioner in October, I was so concerned about Australia’s degrading security environment that I announced the formation of the new national security investigations teams to target groups and individuals causing high harm to our social cohesion.
Essentially, the national security investigations teams are a fly-in squad of hate disrupters who focus on high-harm, high-impact, politically motivated violence, communal violence, and hate crimes that don’t meet the threshold for terrorism investigations, but that we know drive fear and division.
This is all about stopping hate and division earlier, and well before it leads to violence. So far, this crack squad has charged 14 individuals across 13 investigations. Of those, four individuals across four operations were charged for offences relating to antisemitism.
AFP has 161 investigations ongoing as part of antisemitism probe
Australian federal police commissioner, Krissy Barrett, said:
There are groups and individuals across Australia who are eroding the country’s social fabric by advocating hatred, fear and humiliation. I’m not going to mince my words – too much of this is directed at the Jewish community. A year ago, the AFP set up Operation Avalite to investigate antisemitism because of rising concerns and threats.
The AFP has 161 current Avalite investigations, and 10 individuals have already been charged. This is just unbelievable. As country, we should really reflect on those statistics.
AFP to receive funding boost to disrupt hate crimes
The PM says the government will also boost the AFP and the work they’re doing through Operation Avalite.
This is the operation that was established, of course, to deal with antisemitism. We will provide extra funds to provide the national security investigation teams. Those teams disrupt high-harm, high-impact, politically motivated violence, communal violence, and hate crimes.
Albanese vows to ‘get guns off our streets’
The PM:
Australians are rightly proud of our gun laws and, until five years ago, Australians were rightly proud that there had not been a repeat of Port Arthur. They were rightly proud that we’re not home to the constant carnage we see in some countries.
But there have been, of course, incidents in both Queensland and Victoria that have seen so-called sovereign citizens murder police officers. We will introduce this national buyback scheme to get guns off our streets and to help to assist to make all Australians safe.
Australian citizenship to be prerequisite for gun ownership
The PM says there will be stronger regulations about who can own guns and how many they can own:
The national gun buyback scheme is on top of the work that was agreed by national cabinet on Monday, 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, making Australian citizenship a condition of holding a firearm licence, accelerating work on standing up the National Firearms Register, and allowing the additional use of criminal intelligence to underpin firearms licensing.
‘We expect hundreds of thousands of firearms will be collected and destroyed’: PM
The PM says the government will introduce legislation to support the funding of this buyback scheme.
And meet the costs on a 50-50 basis with states and territories. We expect hundreds of thousands of firearms will be collected and destroyed through this scheme.
Consistent with the approach that was taken in 1996, the government is proposing that states and territories will be responsible for the collection, processing, and payment to individuals for surrendered firearms. The Australian federal police will then be responsible for the destruction of these firearms.
Albanese announces national gun buyback scheme
Albanese has announced a national buyback scheme for firearms.
The government will establish a national gun buyback scheme to purchase surplus, newly banned and illegal firearms – the largest buyback since the Howard government initiated one in 1996.
Australia’s gun laws were substantially reformed after the Port Arthur tragedy. The terrible events at Bondi show we need to get more guns off our streets. We know that one of these terrorists held a firearm licence and had six guns, in spite of living in the middle of Sydney’s suburbs, at Bonnyrigg.
There’s no reason why someone in that situation needed that many guns. There are now more than 4 million firearms in Australia – more than at the time of the Port Arthur massacre nearly 30 years ago.
Flags to fly at half-mast on Sunday during day of reflection for Bondi terror attack victims
The PM is speaking in Canberra. He says Sunday 21 December will be a day of reflection to honour the victims of the horrific terrorist attack at Bondi Beach, and to stand in solidarity with the Jewish community.
Further, my government – and the New South Wales government and other premiers as well – will work closely with the Jewish community on arrangements for a national day of mourning to be held in the new year.
This will allow families the time and space to lay their loved ones to rest and to support those still recovering. On Sunday, flags on all New South Wales and Australian government buildings will be flown at half-mast as a mark of respect for the lives lost and the grief shared across our nation.
People across Australia are invited to light a candle at 6:47pm and observe a minute of silence.
This day is about standing with the Jewish community, wrapping our arms around them, and all Australians sharing their grief. It is a moment to pause, reflect, and affirm that hatred and violence will never define who we are as Australians.
