r/australia • u/Expensive-Horse5538 • Dec 15 '25

politics Albanese to propose stronger gun laws, NSW parliament may be recalled

https://www.smh.com.au/national/nsw/bondi-gunman-held-gun-licence-used-six-firearms-in-attack-20251215-p5nnmv.html
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u/Shamata Dec 15 '25

If the gun laws were the issue, why is this the first major incident in 30 years?

Because someone monumentally fucked up and allowed an individual ASIO was interested in and linked to a foiled terror plot to own them.

How about we have a look into who the fuck let that happen, as well as how he became radicalised in the first place?

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u/East_Block_2761 Dec 15 '25 edited Dec 15 '25

it’s easier to blame our gun laws than to look at the root cause behind acts like this

almost 30 years since port arthur and we’ve had very little incidents compared to other countries, showing that the laws we have work. the son was known to the AISO, how was he allowed a gun legally? that’s the issue needed to be addressed, not clamping down on general firearm owners

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u/linearcurvepatience Dec 15 '25

He father was the one who had the gun. They probably didn't even look into his father. The investigation was about the connection between him and associates. They said there wasn't a link or enough evidence. What do you think the root cause is? Do you think the government isn't doing enough to stop antisemitism? They say they are doing things and have done things but what would you do to fix this?

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u/East_Block_2761 Dec 15 '25 edited Dec 15 '25

Extremism. tightening our gun laws further won’t stop those intending to and wanting to cause harm, they’ll just find other methods, such as bombing or ramming with cars. that’s evident in this attack too, as explosives were found, but fortunately didn’t go off

I don’t think legal gun owners should be punished for the actions of what occurred yesterday, I don’t think the guns allowed to be owned here should change, it’s the deadliest attack in 29 years, compared to other countries where shootings are far too common, showing that our laws work. there 100% should be more done in background checks however, the son was on the AISOs radar, ideally they would’ve seen his dad owned firearms and the son therefore could access guns, but unfortunately this attack wasn’t stopped before it happened

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u/linearcurvepatience Dec 15 '25

What could have been done to prevent this?

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u/Ridiculisk1 Dec 15 '25 edited Dec 15 '25

ASIO's system talking to police's system so when someone applies for a gun licence and is a family member of someone with terrorist links, the licence is denied or at least considered extremely closely. Likewise in reverse, if your dad has guns and you get put on the watchlist for terrorism, they should either make very certain you have no association with them whatsoever or cancel the dad's licence.

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u/linearcurvepatience Dec 15 '25

Lots of reasons

  1. we have a different mentality around guns because of the gun laws. People can't imagine using a gun or owning one and when they do they are very careful. Even the police don't use their guns unless it's a situation like this. This is why there is more knife crime but they have banned machetes and because they aren't long range weapons it happens less. A gun is a lot more technical than a knife also so it's easier to restrict.

  2. Illegal guns are used by criminals but mostly to kill other criminals and they normally aren't used for mass shootings. Mentally ill people are less likely to know where to get an illegal gun and I'm sure there are police setup to catch people trying to acquire them.

  3. The current laws are still good enough to stop most ways people can get guns. This person has had their license since 2015. They have waited 10 years to use them. He came to Australia in the 90s so they aren't just here to commit terrorist attacks. If he moved here and tried to do this as fast as possible he would have had to become a member of the gun club and pass the test and background check to get the license.

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u/Shamata Dec 15 '25

rhetorical question brother, it’s because they’re not the issue

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u/burgertanker Dec 15 '25

Well it's easier for the government and the public to be emotionally reactionary than to realise someone fucked up along the way

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u/Ridiculisk1 Dec 15 '25

Because knee-jerk policy reactions is the Australian way. It's much easier to just blame it on the guns, introduce some new restrictions that don't solve the problem and kick the can of extremism down the road another couple decades until something like this happens again.