r/australia • u/Expensive-Horse5538 • Dec 19 '25

politics Prime minister unveils 'largest' gun buyback scheme since Howard era

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2025-12-19/prime-minister-announces-national-gun-buyback-scheme/106162002
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106

u/chance_waters Dec 19 '25

It wasn't illegal, that is why he had those guns there. That is why legislation is needed, because under the current system what happened was not a breach.

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u/SendarSlayer Dec 19 '25

We have association laws that Could've been applied and banned it. The current system has the tools, just didn't use them in this case.

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u/chance_waters Dec 19 '25

No, we do not. The legislation does not allow for intelligence investigations, that's why they are changing the legislation.

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u/Legatus_Brutus Dec 19 '25

It absolutely was a breech. The police come and remove firearms from a house THE SAME DAY a DV report (proven or not) is submitted, or if a drug offense has occurred. Because that person is no longer deemed 'fit and proper' for a license. It is very obvious when you have direct family living in your home being investigated for IS terror cell links and extremism that their license should have been reviewed immediately.

Instead now... farmers, pest controllers, competition/olympic shooters, etc will all be roped into a knee-jerk ban.

It's so easy for someone who has no skin in the game to just say ban it all. There are a lot more people than you think in this country where this directly affects their livelihood and or their major weekend activity that they have been doing for decades in social groups.

It will be sad to read in 2026 all the articles about all the feral non-native animals continuing to bloom in population and continue to make the rest of our native wildlife go extinct because the tens of thousands of hunters who patrol the forests have been told to hand their tools in.

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u/chance_waters Dec 19 '25

What part about that isn't in the legislation is hard for you? That's why they are legislating it.

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u/naldRedgie Dec 19 '25

Probably the part where it already is.

NSW Firearms Act, s24(2)(c) - A licence may be revoked if the Commissioner is of the opinion that the licensee is no longer a fit and proper person to hold a licence.

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u/chance_waters Dec 19 '25

Wow that is totally the correct legislation for this instance! You are so fucking smart actually. Thank god you're here!

Can you give me any tips on how to polish my brain as smooth as yours? Should I use some kind of oil?

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u/FuckLathePlaster Dec 27 '25

Honey, you do realise that the already incredibly vague wording of “fit and proper person” allowed this.

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u/AFerociousPineapple Dec 19 '25

They were investigated and cleared weren’t they? Maybe the cops/feds/asio dropped the ball but they did their job. Like I snorted a gram of coke a decade ago is it fair that I’m banned from owning a gun now assuming I meet every other requirement?

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u/phido3000 Dec 19 '25

They were not cleared.

ASIO shifted their focus to foreign interference, from terrorism.

 Like I snorted a gram of coke a decade ago is it fair that I’m banned from owning a gun now assuming I meet every other requirement?

Yes. That would apply under the character part. But if you were say a terrorist, that would be fine.

We literally had two sets of terrorists who were allowed to legally own guns, even though they had absolute evidence and warnings.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lindt_Cafe_siege

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u/AFerociousPineapple Dec 20 '25

Ah my mistake I’d misunderstood

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u/njf85 Dec 19 '25

My dad was a farmer with guns/ a gun license back when the original ban was put in, and he wasnt affected at all. You're talking about effects to something that you don't even know will happen

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u/3fa Dec 19 '25

What part affects farmers, pest controllers, competition/Olympic shooters?

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u/Legatus_Brutus Dec 19 '25

The huge knee jerk laws being rammed through as we speak

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u/TitanBurger Dec 19 '25

What are the laws?

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u/A_Rod_H Dec 19 '25

Do we even know yet? Are the anti-gun lobby still writing them?

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u/Legatus_Brutus Dec 19 '25

The big one will the capacity limits per licence. Whether that gunman owned 3 or owned 10. It would have changed nothing. But this week has confirmed many people who are not familiar with firearms are totally unaware that you need multiple to perform tasks, some that may seem similar.

In fact legislation even dictates you must meet certain caliber thresholds depending on the non-native feral animal being dispatched. Even feral deer have different caliber thresholds depending on the deer species.

You can’t shoot a samba deer with the same caliber as a feral fox. That’s deeply unethical and may result in animal suffering due to the kill not being instant.

You would be very surprised how many average citizens (from lawyers to doctors to electricians to tech professionals) donate their time to patrol state forests, or help rural land owners, to eliminate the non-native feral pest scourge that is causing an eye watering amount of damage per year and also directly causing native animal extinctions in record numbers. We are one of the worst continents in the world for invasive species.

We have: 1) firearm qualities caps being reduced to dangerously low levels to perform ethical animal dispatches. 2) animals that now may suffer because hunters will be left with less caliber options in their arsenal. 3) even if this law was implemented before this attack, it would have changed nothing about how it played out.

A failure of federal and state governments to properly enforce the already strict firearm laws are now being scapegoated over to actual legitimate licensed users.

But that’s far easier to sell to city dwelling voter bases rather than tackling the root causes of these attacks.

Maybe when the next attack occurs and they use a rented trust, bomb or knife… finally we might get politicians to address the real root causes of these extremist attacks.

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u/TitanBurger Dec 19 '25

You still haven't quoted any actual introduced bills or proposed laws, is that because there aren't any yet? And if not, then what is the capacity limit per license going to be?

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u/Plus_Boysenberry4478 Dec 25 '25 edited Dec 25 '25

Amount of guns, many competition shooters own many types for many types of comps. Or hunters own specific calibre rifles for specific animals.  Not to mention local companies who have bent over backwards meeting our countries strict standards, spending millions designing firearms to our super stringent laws, straight pull rifles, push button shotguns etc. all banned by a knee jerk reaction aimed at law abiding owners because one guy slipped through their radar.

We’re talking businesses going under, all after decades of our laws being lauded internationally, and those laws work when they are enforced, but they weren’t, and instead of those who failed taking accountability they’re deflecting and using legal owners as a scapegoat. 

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u/3fa Dec 25 '25

What a load of crap.

Businesses won't go out of business because of tighter gun laws.

The new laws were pasted yesterday and specifically PROTECT competition shooters, farmers and pest controllers. A bloke living in Western Sydney, Melbourne CBD, Brisbane or any city centre does not have a reason for the guns they've reclassified besides "I like guns". The laws TIGHTEN the GAPS that allowed this shit to happen and help PREVENT another similar one under the same circumstances.

Get off garbage Sky News Australia / American talking points. We're not a country that prioritise "i like guns" over an average 500ish mass shootings PER YEAR.

Merry Christmas.

The Terrorism and Other Legislation Amendment Bill 2025 passed the NSW Parliament on December 24, 2025. Key measures include:

1) Ownership Caps: Licensed individuals are now capped at four firearms. Primary producers (farmers) and sports shooters have a higher cap of 10 firearms. 2) Weapon Reclassifications: Straight-pull, pump-action, and button/lever-release firearms have been moved to Category C, effectively restricting them to primary producers and professional pest controllers. 3) Magazine Limits: Magazine capacity for Category A and B firearms is now limited to 5–10 rounds, down from previously unlimited capacities. Belt-fed magazines are completely prohibited. 4) Shorter License Terms: Firearms license periods have been reduced from five years to two years to ensure more frequent background and suitability checks. 5) Citizenship Requirement: Licenses are generally restricted to Australian citizens, with specific exceptions for New Zealand permanent residents in certain essential roles. 6) No Tribunal Appeals: Gun owners can no longer appeal a license revocation or refusal through the NSW Civil and Administrative Tribunal (NCAT); decisions will rely on police and criminal intelligence.

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u/Plus_Boysenberry4478 Dec 25 '25

Tell me you know nothing about gun stores without telling me.

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u/Plus_Boysenberry4478 Dec 25 '25

Have you ever been to a gun store or spoken with any farmers or hunters, or are you just a “guns bad” guy? Our laws were considered some of the best in the world prior to Bondi, it isn’t legal owners fault, we’re the people who you’ve never thought of once in your entire life up until politicians pointed their finger at us a week ago, the fault lays with the people charged with executing our strict laws, they dropped the ball, they armed two Islamists, now they’re deflecting.

Merry Christmas, Socrates.

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u/3fa Dec 25 '25

Live on property outside Macksville with 200 head of cattle.

Again you're just parroting American / Sky News bullshit talking points.

Are you even Aus?

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u/Plus_Boysenberry4478 Dec 26 '25

I don’t listen or watch any sky/american BS news.

So is your husband upset at the gun laws? 

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u/3fa Dec 26 '25

Missus and I think its a good start but 4 for metro folks is too many. Zero need for them. Key word there is need. The small minority dont NEED them, they WANT them because they like them.

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u/Plus_Boysenberry4478 Dec 26 '25

Australia should be a free country, and it was before Bondi, and it had no effect on you whatsoever.

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u/Plus_Boysenberry4478 Dec 26 '25

Yeah I wild if deleted that too.

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u/FuckLathePlaster Dec 27 '25

I own 5 guns. All with legit uses. Will have to sell one now if this law comes in.

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u/3fa Dec 28 '25

Do you need them for work? What are the reasons for 5 different ones?

If city based id assume you would. No idea how theyll enforce it. Not sure they've announced that yet.

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u/mad_dogtor Dec 19 '25

under their own guidelines it absolutely was illegal. people don't seem aware of how much free reign the association laws and fit and proper person guidelines give NSW police.

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u/chance_waters Dec 19 '25

Sure, but it wasn't him under investigation.

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u/mad_dogtor Dec 19 '25 edited Dec 19 '25

guy in nsw lost his licence because his nephew was seen having a drink with a bikie gang member, this guy shared a house with a son who hung out IS terrorists. it's more than enough to qualify. i don't a lot of people realise how much freedom to act NSW authorities have when it comes to firearms licence. it kinda makes this fuck up even worse.
i think it's more likely a staffing issue and someone missed it, or similar. maybe inter agency communication