Australian state set to pass tougher gun, hate speech laws after Bondi attack

Australia’s most populous state is set to pass tougher gun laws, ban the display of terrorist symbols and curb protests in an emergency sitting following the Bondi mass shooting, as authorities stepped up their response to the antisemitic attack.

Fifteen people were killed and dozens injured in the mass shooting at a Jewish Hanukkah celebration at Bondi on December 14, a shock attack that prompted calls for tougher gun laws and stronger action against antisemitism.

Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said earlier on Tuesday his government would address hate speech and gun control, working with the states on new laws.

The terrorism and other legislation amendment bill is expected to clear the upper house of the New South Wales parliament on Tuesday.

The state’s centre-left Labor government has proposed capping most individual gun licences at four firearms with farmers allowed as many as 10.

Police said one of the alleged Bondi gunmen, Sajid Akram, 50, who was shot dead by officers at the scene, owned six firearms. His 24-year-old son Naveed, who was transferred from hospital to prison on Monday, faces 59 charges, including murder and terrorism.

GOVERNMENT TACKLES HATE SPEECH

A Muslim prayer hall previously linked by a court to a cleric who made statements intimidating Jewish Australians was shut on Monday by local authorities, a move described by New South Wales Premier Chris Minns as an “important step” for the community.

Minns said authorities “need to make decisive steps, whether its through planning law or hate speech [law], to send the message to those who are intent on putting hate in people’s heart or spreading racism in our community that they will be met with the full force of the law.”

The Canterbury Bankstown Council said on Tuesday it had issued a “cease use” directive to shut down an “illegal prayer hall” run by cleric Wissam Haddad after surveillance of the Al Madina Dawah Centre showed the premises was being used in violation of planning laws.

An official at the centre told Reuters by telephone that Haddad was no longer involved in managing the centre.

The Al Madina Dawah centre said in a statement on social media on December 15 that Haddad’s involvement was “limited to occasional invitations as a guest speaker, including delivering lectures, and at times Friday sermons”.

A source close to Haddad, who declined to be named, also told Reuters the preacher was no longer involved in the management of the centre.

Haddad denies any involvement or knowledge of what happened in Bondi, the source added.

ALBANESE CALLS ISRAEL’S HERZOG

Albanese called Israeli President Isaac Herzog on Tuesday to express shock and dismay at the attack on the Australian Jewish community, Albanese’s official social media account said, adding Australia would invite Herzog to make an official visit as soon as possible.

Herzog conveyed his condolences to the families of the victims and said he would accept the invitation, the president’s office said in a statement.

“President Herzog underscored the importance of taking all legal measures to combat the unprecedented rise in antisemitism, extremism, and jihadist terror,” the Israeli statement added.

Although Australia tightened gun laws after a 1996 shooting that killed 35 people, a police firearms registry showed more than 70 people in New South Wales, which includes Sydney, each own more than 100 guns. One licence holder has 298 weapons.

A Sydney Morning Herald poll on Tuesday found three-quarters of Australians want tougher gun laws. The rural-focused Nationals Party opposed the gun reforms in New South Wales, saying the amendments would disadvantage farmers.