Anticipation builds as New South Wales, Australia, gears up to launch a pioneering gun buyback initiative this November. Strap in for a historic movement aimed at reshaping national gun policy after a tragic shooting at a Hanukkah event in Sydney claimed 15 lives, as announced by Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese on Sunday.
Set to commence on November 2, according to both Albanese and New South Wales Premier Chris Minns, the buyback program will roll out its first phase. Those handing in eligible firearms can expect a standard recompense ranging between $450 and $1,000 per weapon, depending on the firearm type. A subsequent phase promises a valuation route for specific high-value firearms, pegged at a maximum of $10,000 per item.
Triggered by the December 14 tragedy at a Bondi Beach Hanukkah gathering, Albanese’s center-left administration introduced sweeping gun control reforms in January. This included the much-talked-about gun buyback scheme alongside stringent firearms regulations. Meanwhile, New South Wales independently enacted tougher state firearms laws, while the federal government also moved to curb hate speech and extremism.
In an unsettling revelation, the accused shooters had legally procured their firearms. Last year saw Australia reach a record high of 4.1 million firearms, with the most populous state, New South Wales, accounting for over 1.1 million of these.
The aftermath of the Bondi Beach Hanukkah festivity attack spurred Prime Minister Anthony Albanese’s government to forge forward with these determined changes to gun-control legislation in January.
“We must do everything we can to make sure the antisemitic terrorist attack in Bondi doesn’t happen again. That includes meaningful nationwide gun reform,” Albanese said in a statement.
The initiative is set to be Australia’s largest buyback since a similar effort following the 1996 massacre in Tasmania’s Port Arthur, when a gunman killed 35 people.
“Australians are quite rightly proud of our gun laws, but the fact is there are more guns in Australia today than there were at the time of dealing with the Port Arthur gun buyback ,” Albanese said.
New South Wales generally limits individual firearm ownership to four guns under restrictions sparked by the Bondi Beach attack, with exemptions allowingcertain licence holders, including some primary producers, sport shooters and others with specified genuine reasons, to possess more firearms. It estimates that up to 274,000 registered firearms — about 24% of the total number of registered firearms in New South Wales — and about 50,000 license holders are affected by the new limits on gun ownership and reclassification of some types of firearms.
Australia’s government said there was a record 4.1 million firearms in the country last year, including more than 1.1 million in New South Wales. (Steve Markham/AP Photo)
“After Bondi, we promised the people of New South Wales we would introduce the toughest gun laws in the country, and that’s exactly what we did,” Minns said. “The next step is getting the guns that are no longer permitted under those laws out of circulation and permanently off our streets.”
“There are potentially hundreds of thousands of firearms affected by these changes,” Minns added. “We want those guns handed in, compensated for and safely destroyed. This is a big undertaking, but the principle behind it is simple: fewer dangerous guns in our community means a safer New South Wales.”
The attack was allegedly carried out by a father and son who police believe were inspired by the Islamic State.
The 50-year-old father, Sajid Akram, was shot and killed by police at the scene, while the surviving suspect, Naveed Akram, 24, has not yet entered pleas on a slew of charges, including 15 counts of murder. Authorities have charged him with 59 offenses in total, including committing a terrorist act and 15 counts of murder.
The attack was carried out by a father and son who police believe were inspired by the Islamic State. (Steve Markham/AP Photo)
A man identified as Ahmed al Ahmed has been praised as a hero for tackling and disarming one of the gunmen. He suffered gunshot wounds in the incident and is still recovering.
“After the tragedy at Bondi, we committed to dealing with the motive and the method,” Minister for Home Affairs Tony Burke said. “Since then, we have strengthened our hate crimes and hate speech laws, which are now the strongest in our country’s history.”
“Today we continue the proud Australian tradition of sensible gun reform designed to protect our community from weapons which have no utility other than to cause harm.” he added.