Gun owners who have more than four firearms will be forced to hand them into police in NSW’s strictest crackdown since the Port Arthur massacre.
In response to Sunday’s Bondi terror attack, NSW Premier Chris Minns announced sweeping changes that would ban the Islamic State flag, prohibit mass gatherings in certain parts of the state, and impose a 10-gun limit for farmers and sporting shooters.
Premier Chris Minns said ISIS flags will be banned in NSW.Credit: Sam Mooy
Minns, who said he took a deep responsibility for what happened on Sunday, drew a connection between pro-Palestine rallies including the Harbour Bridge march and the terror attack, declaring organisers were unleashing something in the community they could not contain.
The state government will jointly fund a buyback scheme with the federal government requiring recreational shooters to surrender straight-pull and pump-action guns, with an exemption for farmers and other primary producers.
“We don’t believe that these are all of the answers to fulfil our responsibility to keep the public safe and to fight antisemitism in the community and hate speech and racism in the community,” Minns said. “So we’ll be careful about our next steps when parliament resumes, but you can expect further reform and further legislative change.”
Sajid Akram, the eldest of the two Bondi gunmen, was licensed to hold six firearms used during Sunday’s attack. The licence was granted two years ago, even after his son and alleged accomplice, Naveed Akram, was investigated by ASIO.
Gun ownership has increased in Sydney, where some individuals own almost 300 guns each, data from the firearms registry shows.
The premier said the ban on protests during terror declarations was not targeted at specific groups, but said the “combustible” situation in the community meant the city couldn’t risk another protest.
“I think there’s a general agreement, clearly from the opposition, that the temperature has been way too high,” he said.
“When you see people marching and showing violent, bloody images, images of death and destruction, it’s unleashing something in our community that the organisers of the protest can’t contain.”
Minns said the state could not risk another mass demonstration on the scale of the Harbour Bridge protest for Gaza that Minns and NSW Police did not support.
When asked if members of his own party, including senior minister Penny Sharpe, and other well-meaning Sydneysiders were wrong to participate in the Harbour Bridge march, Minns said he would not dwell on the past.
“I didn’t think it was consistent with community harmony,” he said. “But a lot of people, including people who approached that issue with goodwill who’d be appalled by what happened on Sunday, disagreed.”
Police Minister Yasmin Catley said the cost could be “four or five times” larger for NSW to get the guns off owners than in Western Australia, which set aside $63 million for its buyback scheme.
Licence holders will be required to be a member of a gun club, magazine capacities for category A and B firearms will be limited to a maximum of five to 10 rounds, and there will be a blanket ban on firearms that can use a belt-fed magazine.
New Zealand citizens who become permanent residents will be exempt from a ban on non-citizens owning guns if they work in primary production or security. Licence terms will be reduced from five to two years, and existing license holders will be audited to look at high-risk cases.
When parliament is recalled on Monday, the opposition will revive its own legislation that failed to pass parliament earlier this year, which would give police and courts powers to block repeat protests on the basis of policing costs, economic impact, and “social cohesion”.
They also propose expanding laws banning Nazi symbols to capture symbols linked to proscribed terrorist organisations, and increasing the maximum jail term from 18 months to five years.
The proposal would mirror Commonwealth laws and allow NSW Police to arrest anyone displaying a symbol linked to terror.
“When you allow hate speech to go unchecked, when we do not stand up against words, those words lead to violence,” said NSW Opposition Leader Kellie Sloane.
Bondi Beach incident helplines:
- Bondi Beach Victim Services on 1800 411 822
- Bondi Beach Public Information & Enquiry Centre on 1800 227 228
- NSW Mental Health Line on 1800 011 511 or Lifeline on 13 11 14
- Kids Helpline on 1800 55 1800 or chat online at kidshelpline.com.au
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Disclaimer : This story is auto aggregated by a computer programme and has not been created or edited by DOWNTHENEWS. Publisher: www.smh.com.au
