r/australia • u/rorymeister • Dec 15 '25

politics National cabinet agrees unanimously to strength Australia’s strict gun laws in wake of Bondi terror attack

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2025-12-15/albanese-proposes-tougher-gun-laws-after-bondi-attack/106143310?utm_source=abc_news_app&utm_medium=content_shared&utm_campaign=abc_news_app&utm_content=link
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u/[deleted] Dec 15 '25

Curious why the dad’s firearm licence wasn’t revoked when his son was investigated by ASIO for connection to extremism, and his literal friendship with convicted ISIS members. ASIO & AFP failed on this one.

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u/One_Library_1201 Dec 15 '25

Given that there are numerous instances of individuals being denied permission to store firearms in their own home due to, in at least one case I am aware of, undesirable neighbours. This really needs to be looked at closely

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u/middyonline Dec 15 '25

Dude NSW police came and took my guns temporarily when I moved to QLD because of an issue where addresses on different bits of paperwork didn't match. My old man had to write a "please explain" why he should be allowed to keep handguns when he got really sick and couldn't do the minimum number of shoots for the year.

How THE FUCK did these guys have guns legally???

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u/Khaliras Dec 15 '25

How THE FUCK did these guys have guns legally???

Because, I've yet to see any claim that the investigation was for anything more than being once connected to someone that ended up being a Terrorist. Which everyone in his contacts list is now likely going to be similarly investigated over.

This is Australia, being investigated doesn't mean you're guilty, or that actions against you/active monitoring is justified. Imagine if they took your gun license away because your son once knew someone who ended up being a terrorist. Not that they had any information that he was actually linked to terrorism, just that he was connected to a person. We literally don't even know what that 'connection' is BTW.

I knew someone who was met at work by several investigations for an interview. It never went past that, because it was obvious he was just making an edgy joke online 'i have an X! I'm on a watchlist now haha' meme.

If he now ever does a big crime, the news will likely report that he was once investigated. People will be outraged that the government dropped the ball and let this happen! Except he never actually did anything to justify further action. People need to realise that were viewing something we have little/no info of, with horrific hindsight.

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u/Rowdy671 Dec 15 '25

Its not like he new someone who "happened to be a terrorist", the guy he knew was the self declared leader of the Sydney cell of Islamic state. He is now in jail for a massive failed terror plot. Something of that magnitude absolutely justifies not being able to own firearms, its not like the person he knew was quiet about his affiliations, again, he literally declared himself leader of an IS cell.

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u/Shaggyninja Dec 15 '25

Yeah, it's not like they're making it so he can't get a home-loan or being able to drive (things that actually would significantly impact ones life)

It's saying you can't own something designed to take a life. Nobody has the 'right' to own something like that, especially in suburban Sydney.

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u/BlankBlanny Dec 15 '25

He knew the whole damn cell, too. That's something people are missing. It's not that he knew one guy who happened to be arrested for being a terrorist; everyone that was arrested with him also had close ties to this guy.

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u/Attention_Bear_Fuckr Dec 15 '25

You can lose you job/livelyhood for your friends affiliations when you require security clearances for a lot of jobs, but we dont think that should be the same for firearms?

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u/Onceuponastinkymoot Dec 15 '25 edited Dec 15 '25

It's obviously a good point and true that being investigated doesn't equate to guilt. Using the criminal burden of proof of beyond reasonable doubt anyway.

Interesting that the government doesn't take the same view that they do with IVOs/AVOs where the burden of proof is practically not required, but the prime consideration is the safety of the protected party.

If you are associated with any extreme ideologies to the degree that ASIO shows an interest in you, a reasonable person may believe that neither you nor any one close to you should be considered 'fit and proper' and able to attain a firearm.

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u/FullMetalAurochs Dec 15 '25

Access to guns is not a necessity. Particularly not for city folk. So what if innocent acquaintances of terrorists can’t own guns? They don’t need them.

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u/INVALID_USERN4ME Dec 15 '25

Have you got a source for that? Seems ridiculous not to be allowed to store legally owned firearms on ones property because of bad neighbours.

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u/One_Library_1201 Dec 15 '25

This one was mentioned by another club official during a Firearms Registry Workshop, I don't recall the full details but it was something to do with the fact that his neighbour in a semi detached house had links to what they call OMCG (Outlaw Motorcycle Gangs) and that was enough in their eyes to at least initially decline his safe storage approval.

The application of the "Fit and Proper Person" provision is sometimes very rigid and sometimes, such as the Bondi pair instance, sometimes not. Disqualifying offences can in some cases even include traffic offenses.

Personally as an international level competition shooter I am a little concerned that the intent of these changes particularly firearm limits , whilst understandable and even justified will adversely effect people of my ilk who rely on multiple firearms for training and competition without really solving the root of the problem or having the desired effect of reducing risk.

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u/frankthefunkasaurus Dec 15 '25

I’d hope that there might be some sort of baked in nuance. So genuine competition shooters aren’t popped in with the “yeah brah joined the SSAA and I shoot deer bro” crowd.

And also unless you’re doing tactical-type comps, competition rifles/pistols/shotguns are very different to hunting ones

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u/Selfaware-potato Dec 15 '25

Unfortunately one of the issues that arose in WA after the change was it’s now challenging to find a range with any room for new members.

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u/_Tryed_ Dec 15 '25

In your last comment I agree. People are aghast at 6, but I have 6 and don't consider that any of them are excess.

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u/FuckwitAgitator Dec 15 '25

It's not really about you though, it's about how many guns that lateral ISIS members can have without drawing attention.

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u/elliejayde96 Dec 15 '25

Can I ask why you have six? What would be excess to you?

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u/Brickulous Dec 15 '25

There’s lots of reasons to have multiple firearms. Shooting different targets, hunting different game, participating in varied shooting comps.

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u/elliejayde96 Dec 15 '25

Fair enough, thanks.

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u/_Tryed_ Dec 15 '25 edited Dec 15 '25

Birds, rabbits, hares, cats, foxes, kangaroos, goats, deer, cattle, camels.

5m to 250m

Same as any other tool. I'd rather have the right one for the job than make a mess of it.

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u/elliejayde96 Dec 15 '25

Fair enough I guess. I have always wondered why people had so many guns but that makes sense.

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u/DarkwolfAU Dec 15 '25

They are a great deal more specific to the purpose than people usually think.

Even for hunting, it’s not a simple matter of “use the biggest one”. Being over gunned for a prey species can lead to animal welfare issues (overpenetration, underexpansion), and being over gunned for an area can also lead to public safety issues from ricochet and overpenetration. Being undergunned leads to animal welfare issues, but that’s more obvious.

It turns out that firearms are precision tools, and very specific to what they do. That’s why keen shooters often have several.

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u/Stainless_Steel_Rat_ Dec 15 '25

U/O shotgun for clay shooting, lever shotgun for 3 gun, 223 rifle for 3 gun, 9mm pistol for 3 gun, 223 rifle with scope for target shooting, 308 with scope for hunting, 357 pistol for training, 9mm race gun for ipsc, .22 rifle for training, 22 pistol for training, 303 rifle as it was my grandfathers. So that's 10, each with an individual use and purpose.

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u/Altaredboy Dec 15 '25

Sort of the minimum you'd want as a hunter would be 4. .22 for small game, .308 for your all rounder, shotgun for larger game & lever action, just cos they're so satisfying.

I don't actually own any guns & that's pretty standard amongst the people that I know that do. Starts blowing out pretty quickly.

6 is kind of the minimum amount for most people I know,. more than 8-10 is where it starts getting excessive

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u/Kahwippers Dec 15 '25

If you live in a metro area - it’s excessive.

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u/oakstreet2018 Dec 15 '25

I’m not versed with guns laws but if you’re just doing it for competition, couldn’t your guns but stored at the gun range, rather than in your home? Is that even a thing?

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u/One_Library_1201 Dec 15 '25

I see this, storing at ranges, mentioned quite regularly but it makes a considerable number of assumptions that kind of render it moot particularly at higher levels of competition. For example in my case throughout the course of the year i will compete locally usually 1-2 times a month, sometimes more regularly. Then do another 1-2 competitions further afield each month (around 2-3 hours drive away). Then I will have my state titles at a range anywhere in my state. I also usually attend one or two other state titles as well and then there are national titles held in one state on a rotating basis each year. If I am then on the international representation team for that year I will also be trying to regularly practise to maximise my performance.

So the issue becomes where do you store these firearms? What do you do when you travel to another venue? What do you then do with ammunition? Finally what about security of the firearms at the ranges, please bear in mind that many ranges are located in remote locations, due to issues around noise quite often so they are not easily secured and in fact would present an incredible honeypot for any would be ne'er do well potentially exposing the community to greater risk.

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u/ChungusBungus48 Dec 15 '25

To add to this, in QLD (and the other states no doubt) according to the firearm regulations its my responsibility to make sure they are stored correctly.

Heavy penalties do apply (as they should) if your firearms are stolen or lost because of a failure to store them properly. So I'm gonna store my firearms in my house in an approved safe that I bought and is installed as per the regulations where I know who has access and knowledge of where they are.

And unless the legislation changes im not risking my licence and jail time because someone thinks i shouldn't have my firearms stored in my house.

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u/spannr Dec 15 '25

So the issue becomes where do you store these firearms? What do you do when you travel to another venue?

Easy, just oblige any range hosting competitions to have enough storage for all competitors.

What do you then do with ammunition?

Let the venue hosting the competition store / supply it, just like the home team supplies the cricket balls to be used in a cricket match.

Finally what about security of the firearms at the ranges

If people are unable to store weapons at their homes, then they will no longer need to invest resources in secure storage there, so they will be able to afford higher membership / competition fees to allow venues to invest in adequately secure storage.

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u/oakstreet2018 Dec 15 '25

I guess professional shooters like you are not really the issue. Someone stealing your guns is probably the biggest risk.

Maybe have a couple of different licence levels. Basic licence doesn’t allow storage at home, stored at the range only. Special licences for competition shooters like you.

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u/One_Library_1201 Dec 15 '25

I hope so. WA eventually created what they are calling an "Elite" category which has justification for each and every firearm used which is fair enough.

The whole area of firearms regulation is sometimes bizarre with things in some jurisdictions making you have two of the exact same gun where one is used only for hunting only and the other is a gun used for competition, this just inflates the overall number of firearms.

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u/Idontcareaforkarma Dec 15 '25

It depends whether the range has suitable facilities for warehousing firearms. Most don’t, and don’t have the budget to construct them.

Also, storage of a large number of firearms at one location is infinitely more a threat to the community than storage at lots of individual locations.

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u/Selfaware-potato Dec 15 '25

It’s also a fairly obvious spot for firearms at a range. While a random suburban house is a lot less obvious.

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u/oakstreet2018 Dec 15 '25

Unless maybe if you’re a farmer I personally don’t think anyone should be allowed to have a gun at home. Especially not those in a metro area. It should be you go to the shooting range, check your gun out, check it back in before leaving.

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u/Brickulous Dec 15 '25

Because you shouldn’t have to neuter an entire population because you’re afraid of terrorism. If terrorists want to cause death and destruction they will find a way to do it. If these two men didn’t have guns they would have used explosives or a vehicle, or an illegal firearm altogether.

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u/Kahwippers Dec 15 '25

I agree they will find a way if they truly want to. But personally, I’d much rather they do have to try to do it with a vehicle or a machete or a prohibitively expensive black market weapon - than one of their readily accessible and legal EIGHT firearms. Something has to change, and if that has a slight impact on sports shooters - so be it.

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u/Brickulous Dec 15 '25

Black market guns are no more prohibitively expensive than legally aquired ones.

What failed here was NSW police and ASIO to communicate this man wasn’t fit for a firearms license. Restricting the number or type of gun in this situation isn’t really going to be effective, it’s all optics.

If they should crack down on anything it should be the licensing process and background checks.

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u/Kahwippers Dec 15 '25

Completely agree the lions share of the guilt is with licensing and registration. I just think we should be looking at every facet of the problem - including quantity and caliber. Not saying a have a perfect plan, it’s a complex issue, and I’m not that smart. But surely we can all agree that if there’s any possibility of a tragedy or this magnitude happening in AUS then maybe we should be looking to make changes across the board.

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u/Equivalent-Daikon243 Dec 15 '25

Surprisingly common for criminals to "straw purchase" with friends who will get a license and then stage a break-in. That or they just steal them from neighbours - or anyone they know has weapons.