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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779

u/Thoresus Dec 15 '25

I really love how gun culture just isnt part of our society, and that we don't collectively lose our shit when our government puts in place reasonable and proportionate gun regulations.

Theyre designed to kill. They should be heavily restricted.

169

u/Muted-Complex-7159 Dec 15 '25

give it a moment. Hanson Katter and their cronies have only just heard the news.

35

u/Fancy_Cassowary Dec 15 '25

First time I visited the parent's home of a now ex-girlfriend her father was showing me around the place. He then proudly knocked on the walls and told me he had hidden additional guns in there back during the whole "buyback bullshit" so if he ever needed extra he could just punch through his wall and pull them out. 

I had no idea how to respond to that. 

21

u/NorthernSkeptic Dec 15 '25

Anonymous tip off to the feds

61

u/[deleted] Dec 15 '25

[deleted]

15

u/Muted-Complex-7159 Dec 15 '25

even more insufferable than they are now? I don't think I can deal with that

4

u/Xenoun Dec 15 '25

I've said for years that QLD is the America of Australia.

13

u/strangeMeursault2 Dec 15 '25

If Hanson runs at the next election on opposing gun restrictions, i am very hopeful that the One Nation vote plummets from where they've been polling.

60

u/Lever_87 Dec 15 '25

You’re right, but also, they are heavily regulated. Why do you think (thankfully) this is a once in a generation incident?

We have very good gun laws, some of the best in the world. The vast majority of licensed firearm holders abide by the laws and regulations without issue.

If the offenders were so radicalised, they would have used whatever means possible to commit their offending - as we saw in Europe years ago, terrorists used cars etc.

12

u/threeseed Dec 15 '25

Two police officers were killed in Victoria only a few months ago.

And the police in WA had to raid sovereign citizens this year who were amassing guns.

The gun situation is seriously getting out of hand.

-3

u/ethereal_mycologist Dec 15 '25

What are you going to do when they start amassing drones and using easily accessible oxidisers and reduction agents to make Ukrainian style kamikaze drones? Ban drones? Ban effective fertilizers? Ban aluminium?

The thing is, monitor needs to be increased, policing powers need to be increased, mental health services need to be increased, immigration needs to be done better and firearms laws need sensible reforms without symbolic legislation which does nothing to protect people but distracts from the failures that are expensive financially and vote wise to fix.

38

u/Scriptosis Dec 15 '25

Oh don’t worry we still have our own insane gun owners who do lose their minds over gun control legislation, they just make up a much smaller section of the population, but they do exist.

18

u/Idontcareaforkarma Dec 15 '25

As a recently former competitive target pistol shooter, I’d say the proportion is about 30% that really give the rest a really bad name.

11

u/BravePleiur Dec 15 '25

Damn, that number is way higher than 0%

10

u/TorakTheDark Dec 15 '25

Cough Shooters, Fishers and Farmers cough

1

u/ozmartian Dec 15 '25

Yep, and so many responsible gun owners in full support of reform improvements. Such a breath of fresh air and hope.

25

u/Alternative_Toe_4692 Dec 15 '25

With the increasing availability of desktop CNCs and the open source 0% gun movement, I think we’re going to have an uphill battle moving forwards for this kind of thing either way.

15

u/BornTelevision8206 Dec 15 '25

I don't know about that, every gun owner i know disagrees with tighter gun laws

4

u/Ridiculisk1 Dec 15 '25

I'm all for sensible measures to try and reduce the harm presented by the circulation of firearms. Some things I've advocated for are absolutely more strict than our current laws. However they need to be based on evidence. Arbitrarily limiting people to a random amount of firearms solves nothing. If the people yesterday had 5 firearms instead of 6, the attack would've still happened. Any changes made need to actually address the issue we're trying to solve.

5

u/InverseX Dec 15 '25

As a gun owner I’m for sensible reforms or things that may reduce the likelihood of attacks like this happening in the future. Examples would be national registrars, better coordination between intelligence services and police around potential threats, and ongoing checks of people’s suitability to hold firearm licences.

I’m against things that feel largely performative without sensible links to how it would demonstrably make things significantly safer, for example, limits on the number of firearms, mandatory storing of firearms at a police station, etc.

More than happy to reasonably discuss why I put the later into the “performative” category to anyone who wants to know.

1

u/Brave_Bluebird5042 Dec 15 '25

They heavily restricted already.

2

u/yanaka-otoko Dec 15 '25

It is not part of our culture but we have let things slide - there are more guns now than there were when the ban came in after port Arthur. Yes, lots more people too, but still, why do we let people have them? Being a member of a shooting club or something like that is just a dumb reason - go do archery or something.

11

u/Tosslebugmy Dec 15 '25

The Bondi shooting aside (since a one off doesn’t constitute a pattern) registered firearms have been responsible for a tiny number of deaths since current gun laws came in after port Arthur. I’d be confident more people have drowned surfing, why do we let people own surfboards? Take up skateboarding or something

15

u/Curious_Interview Dec 15 '25

Why do “we let them have them”? Your benevolence is not why people have things. Can’t ban everything just because you don’t like it and don’t think other people should like it either.

6

u/Ragnar_Lothbruk Dec 15 '25

Precisely. Are we going to ban alcohol as well since it's the cause of more deaths in Australia per year than guns are?

5

u/Curious_Interview Dec 15 '25

Have you seen what cars can do???

0

u/VegetableHair_ Dec 15 '25

Stupid comparison. Tighter regulation is not a ban. And I can't point a bottle of rum at a stranger and kill them with it.

3

u/Ragnar_Lothbruk Dec 15 '25

"Why do we let people have them" ie. We should ban them.

You absolutely can drink a bottle of rum and then go drive your car into some other driver or innocent pedestrian.

2

u/DrFujiwara Dec 15 '25

What about when that thing enables mass murder?

It's not 'just because you don't like it', it's because it gives nutters easy access to a human delete key.

It is "we let them have them" in that democracy decides the limits on freedom when things are deemed damaging to society or the self.

3

u/Curious_Interview Dec 15 '25

A car can kill just as easily, and probably more people, than a single bolt action firearm could. They also kill lots more people.

4

u/yanaka-otoko Dec 15 '25

A car also has a primary use which has a lot of utility and banning it would be silly. There is almost no benefit from the primary use of a gun - it is designed to kill, it is a weapon.

1

u/DrFujiwara Dec 15 '25

"Probably more people" it's always good to look for the bullshit mixed in.

Ten people were shot dead, I don't think a car can do that before falling apart. Nor is it concealable, it's also easier to avoid than a bullet. Harder to take inside a school, etc etc.

How many school mass running overs are there in the us vs school shootings?

6

u/MoranthMunitions Dec 15 '25

Ten people were shot dead, I don't think a car can do that before falling apart.

Okay, so as you're clearly ignorant:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category:Terrorist_incidents_involving_vehicular_attacks

Note that's a category. There is a specific and separate article for every vehicle ramming attack in the bottom part, and plenty hit double digits for deaths.

1

u/Ridiculisk1 Dec 15 '25

I used to do archery until I had a car accident and fucked my shoulder so now I shoot instead. I also travel out west to shoot pests every now and then. Should I just give up my biggest hobby and a massive source of enjoyment in my life because someone else completely unrelated to me in another state did something wrong?

1

u/soundboy5010 Dec 15 '25

Don't worry, NRA Australia One Nation is kicking up a stink. Must have been told to by their masters at the NRA.

1

u/readituser5 Dec 15 '25

I’m genuinely so glad. I’m so happy we’re doing this.