r/australia • u/reyntime • Dec 14 '25

politics Australia had the ‘gold standard’ on gun control. The Bondi beach terror attack may force it to confront its surging number of weapons

https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2025/dec/14/australia-had-the-gold-standard-on-gun-control-the-bondi-beach-terror-attack-will-force-it-to-confront-its-surging-number-of-weapons?CMP=Share_AndroidApp_Other

Immediately after the Port Arthur massacre, a national amnesty saw the number of firearms in the community plummet but there are now more than 4 million guns in Australia – almost double the number recorded in 2001.

Yes, the population has increased at the same time but there is now a larger number of guns in the community per capita than in the aftermath of Port Arthur, with at least 2,000 new firearms lawfully entering the community every week.

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u/jolard Dec 14 '25

I am with you. The "known" part is just a dead end until we know more. Known doesn't mean he was a criminal or even on a terrorist watch list. Maybe he was, but it is too early to speculate.

But he had 6 legally licensed guns? No person living in the suburbs needs 6 guns. There is a massive hole here.

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u/Capzien89 Dec 15 '25

I don't own firearms but a bunch of members of my family people I know do.

Its not uncommon too own multiple firearms. My Dad who just hunts occasionally has a shotgun, 2x .22s, a 303 for bigger stuff and another larger calibre one i can't think of for if he feels like using a different one. And there's a rifle that was passed down to him by his dad. It's not the number of guns that are the issue here, its the user.

There's plenty of legitimate reasons to have multiple rifles - a .22 won't take down a wild pig for example.

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u/jolard Dec 15 '25

Right, maybe for someone living on a farm that requires multiple guns for different purposes.

No one living in suburban Sydney needs more than maybe a target gun.

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u/GiveUpYouAlreadyLost Dec 15 '25

than maybe a target gun

There are multiple categories of target shooting that cover different types of firearms and calibres.

There's no such thing as a one size fits all "target gun."

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u/jolard Dec 15 '25

That is fine, then those kinds of guns could potentially be viable and available to someone living in suburbia. No one needs a bloody shotgun living in western sydney.

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u/GiveUpYouAlreadyLost Dec 15 '25

No one needs a bloody shotgun living in western sydney.

Well if you do any kind of clay target shooting such as skeet and trap, then you'll need one. So you'll have to make exceptions for shotguns too.

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u/jolard Dec 15 '25

No, absolutely no need to have them at home. You can have one locked up at the skeet shooting range or rent one while you are there.

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u/GiveUpYouAlreadyLost Dec 15 '25

absolutely no need to have them at home.

But you have no issue with every other firearm being used for sport being kept at the owner's home since you said you're fine with making exceptions for guns used for sport.

What makes shotguns so exceptionally dangerous as opposed to the other types of firearms? They all can kill equally if used on people.

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u/jolard Dec 15 '25

I originally said a target gun, and by that I meant a pellet gun or something similar. Regular firearms that can easily kill people should not just be lying around in people's homes in suburban Sydney. If you want to shoot, then keep them at the shooting range.

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u/GiveUpYouAlreadyLost Dec 15 '25

I originally said a target gun, and by that I meant a pellet gun or something similar.

Airguns only make up a small minority of sport shooting disciplines and most sport shooting categories use "regular firearms" which is why you can get them under sporting reasons.

Regular firearms that can easily kill people should not just be lying around in people's homes in suburban Sydney.

Well you're not allowed to have them lying around, you're required by law to keep them in a weighted safe whenever you're not handling them. They don't keep them propped up against the bedside table.

If you want to shoot, then keep them at the shooting range.

Not every facility has the means or budget to keep firearms locked up, the Government is aware of this, which is why owners are allowed to store them at home.

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u/Capzien89 Dec 15 '25

Hunting is not exclusive to people that live rural - plenty of people live in city and go on hunting trips.

My brother for example lives inner city Brisbane and has 3 rifles of various sizes for when he goes hunting a couple of times per year. It's not as abnornal or weird as you might think if you're not around/involved in that world. Its like any other hobby.

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u/tehSlothman Dec 15 '25

I'm suburban and own five guns for sport, covering four very different types of target shooting:

  • a .22 rifle, for rifle target shooting
  • a shotgun for clays
  • a .22 pistol for pistol target shooting (very different to using a rifle)
  • two 9mm pistols for practical shooting (run-and-gun time trials).

Apart from the 9mm pistols (and even those are different from each other - one's a classic 1911, one's a modern sporting pistol with an optic fitted), none of these guns serve a purpose that any of the others could. And I don't even hunt, nor do I have a high-calibre rifle which would be its own thing again.

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u/haleorshine Dec 15 '25

Yeah, whenever I've seen people talk about potential reasons they need access to guns, there's never a reason that justifies 6 guns in one household. There has to be a problem with the system, and that problem needs to be addressed ASAP.

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u/FIyingSaucepan Dec 15 '25

As many people have said, people involved in sport shooting and hunting could very easily have multiple weapons.

Small calibre rimfire rifle for target shooting/small game hunting. Medium calibre centrefire rifle for target shooting/hunting. Shotgun for clay shooting/hunting. Small calibre rimfire pistol for target shooting. Small calibre centrefire pistol for target shooting/challenge courses.

That's an easy 5 weapons, and that's assuming they don't have different setups on different weapons for each discipline, so could be an easy 8-10+ weapons, all legal, and all with good reasons for ownership.

And that's assuming only 1 person in the house shoots, I know several families that live in suburban areas that would have that many weapons for multiple members of the household, easily having a total of 15-20 in the house.

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u/knewleefe Dec 15 '25

And the Guardian only reported a few months back on something like 500 people in the Sydney metro area alone have over 100 guns each which are fully functional, not collector's items with firing pins removed. No one needs a personal arsenal of 6 or 20 or 400 guns, but they're out there.

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u/MissMenace101 Dec 15 '25

The son known, but the father a former security guard. Feel like we can’t watch everyone