Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese on Monday proposed tougher national gun laws after a mass shooting targeted a Hanukkah celebration on Sydney’s Bondi Beach, leaving at least 15 people dead.
Albanese said he would propose new restrictions, including limiting the number of guns a licensed owner can obtain. His proposals followed revelations that the older of the two gunmen — a father in a father-and-son pair — had legally amassed six firearms.
“The government is prepared to take whatever action is necessary. Included in that is the need for tougher gun laws,” Albanese told reporters. “People’s circumstances can change. People can be radicalised over a period of time. Licences should not be in perpetuity.”
At least 38 people were being treated in hospitals after the massacre on Sunday, when the two shooters fired indiscriminately at the beachfront festivities. Those killed included a 10-year-old girl, a rabbi and a Holocaust survivor.
The attack at Australia’s most popular beach was the deadliest shooting in almost three decades in a country with strict gun controls aimed largely at removing rapid-fire rifles from circulation. Albanese called the massacre an act of antisemitic terrorism that struck at the heart of the nation.
He pledged swift change and planned to present his gun law proposals to a national cabinet meeting with state leaders, noting some measures would require state legislation. “Some laws are commonwealth and some laws are implemented by the states. What we want to do is to make sure that we’re all completely on the same page,” he said. Australia’s gun laws were overhauled after the 1996 Port Arthur massacre.
The massacre raised questions about whether the government had done enough to curb rising antisemitism. Jewish leaders and survivors expressed fear and fury, asking why the men had not been detected before they opened fire.
“There’s been a heap of inaction,” said Lawrence Stand, who rushed to a Bar Mitzvah celebration in Bondi when the violence erupted to find his 12-year-old daughter. “But the people were warned about this… And still not enough has been done by our government.”
“I think the federal government has made a number of missteps on antisemitism,” Alex Ryvchin, spokesperson for the Australian Council of Executive Jewry, told reporters near the massacre site. He called for investigations into “how that was allowed to take place.”
Authorities released limited public information about the father and son. The 50-year-old father, who was shot dead, held a licence that legally allowed him to acquire the six firearms recovered from his property and had a gun club membership, New South Wales Police Commissioner Mal Lanyon said. The licence permitted ownership for a “genuine reason” such as target shooting, recreational hunting or vermin control; self-defence is not an accepted reason.
The father arrived in Australia in 1998 on a student visa and was an Australian resident at his death. His 24-year-old Australian-born son was shot and wounded and is being treated in hospital; Lanyon said he “may well” face criminal charges.
The violence erupted at the end of a summer day when thousands had flocked to Bondi, including hundreds attending Chanukah by the Sea, a family event with food, face painting and a petting zoo. On Monday, people laid flowers near the scene. Among those praised was a man captured on video tackling and disarming one gunman, then setting the weapon on the ground. Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke identified him as Ahmed al Ahmed, a 42-year-old fruit shop owner and father of two who was shot in the shoulder and survived.
Australia, with about 28 million people, is home to roughly 117,000 Jews. Over the past year antisemitic attacks have occurred in Sydney and Melbourne, including arson, graffiti and assaults. The government has taken steps since Oct. 7, 2023 — when Hamas attacked Israel and Israel responded with war in Gaza — including appointing a special envoy to combat antisemitism, toughening laws and investing in security for Jewish schools and synagogues.
Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he had warned Australia’s leaders months ago about dangers from failing to act against antisemitism and criticized Australia’s recognition of a Palestinian state as adding to the problem.
Albanese vowed the violence would be met with “a moment of national unity where Australians across the board will embrace their fellow Australians of Jewish faith.” “There is no place in Australia for antisemitism,” he added.
In August Albanese blamed Iran for two earlier attacks and cut diplomatic ties with Tehran, though authorities have not suggested Iran was linked to Sunday’s massacre. Investigations into the Bondi attack were underway.
