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NSW Premier Chris Minns says the state’s parliament will be recalled next week to debate gun law reform in the wake of a terror attack at Bondi Beach that killed 15 people.
The NSW government will recall parliament on 22 and 23 December “to deal with urgent legislation that we believe is required pre-Christmas to keep the community safe, and ensure there’s unambiguous laws in place when it comes to public safety”, Minns told reporters in Sydney.
He said the first bill to be dealt with is on firearms legislation and he also flagged preemptively banning certain protests on international issues.
The exact legislation hasn’t been drafted but Minns said it will cover a cap on the number of firearms, reclassifying straight shotguns, potentially prohibiting belt-fed magazines in those shotguns and removing NCAT as an appeal mechanism once a designation has been made about withdrawing a licence from the registered authority.
Chris Minns has expressed his intention to eliminate the current appeal process.
“At the moment, New South Wales police routinely yank licences from gun holders and licence holders they suspect or fear are a threat to the community, those appeals are heard in NCAT, and often police’s objections are overturned and the guns remain with that individual,” he said.
Sixteen people were killed on Sunday evening in an attack on a Jewish Hanukkah celebration at Bondi Beach, including one of the two alleged gunmen.
One of the alleged shooters, Naveed Akram, who was born in Australia, has regained consciousness after being in a coma since the weekend attack.
The second suspect in the shooting incident, Sajid Akram, who was an Indian national, owned six legally registered firearms. Akram was subsequently shot and killed by police during the incident.
“I am concerned that a large-scale protest in our diverse community could ignite tensions that would be difficult to control,” Minns stated.
Minns said the government was looking to reform rules around protests.
“We’re looking at reforms whereby when there’s a terrorism designation in the state, the police commissioner may not accept applications for protests on the grounds it will both stretch police resources and secondly, add to community disharmony and as a result, a combustible situation in the state,” he said.
Minns said the proposed changes would include a blanket rule on banning demonstrations when there was a terrorism designation in place because they could be dangerous “particularly those about international events”.
He said it wouldn’t apply to one specific group but would be for those who submitted Form 1 — a notice of intention to hold a public assembly — applications.
He added, “Suppressing protests won’t lead to unity or safety. Instead, it will perpetuate injustice, increase divisions, and grant the government extensive authority to quash dissent on any issue at its discretion.”
The Palestine Action Group — which organises pro-Palestinian protests — said in a statement that Minns’ announcement “poses a serious danger to our democratic rights in NSW”.
“The right to protest is fundamental in any democratic society, to enable people to express their views and hold governments accountable.”
The group said it does not have any protests currently planned, “but whether or not we have the right to protest should not be up to the government of the day.”
Police representative Lanyon noted that family members of the victims would be given the opportunity to visit the site for a walkthrough.
Bondi Beach reopening delayed
NSW police commissioner Mal Lanyon said police had hoped to move faster on reopening the parts of Bondi Beach that were designated a crime scene, but instead of reopening this afternoon, the “crime scene will be returned from the homicide squad back to the police area command this afternoon.”
Lanyon said family members of victims would be offered a walk-through of the site.
Responding to questions on why police haven’t charged Naveed Akram, Lanyon said they were waiting for his medical condition to improve.
“We’re awaiting for his medical condition to be appropriate. It’s important he has appropriate cognitive ability. For his fairness, we need him to understand what is exactly happening.”
