Australia’s gun laws will be bolstered in the wake of the shocking terror attack at Bondi Beach that left 15 people dead.
The laws were top of the agenda at a meeting of National Cabinet overnight, with state and territory leaders unanimously agreeing stronger, targeted reform was needed.
The proposed changes include limiting the number of guns that can be owned by one person and limiting firearms licences to Australian citizens only.
It follows revelations one of the gunmen in Sunday’s horrific attack held a firearms licence for at least a decade and owned six guns.
According to Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke, the father was not an Australian citizen, having arrived in Australia on a student visa in 1998 before transferring to a partner visa in 2001.
He has since travelled overseas three times on a Returning Resident Visa, but still managed to hold a gun licence in Australia.
Speaking on Monday night, the Prime Minister said neither the father or son who allegedly committed the massacre were on ASIO’s radar.
He revealed ASIO did conduct a six-month investigation into the younger man back in 2019, and also interviewed his father, but found they weren’t a threat.
“They determined that there was no evidence of this person planning or considering or, indeed, promoting any act of violence or any act which could be deemed to be anti-Semitic, targeting the Jewish community, which is what occurred,” Anthony Albanese told ABC’s 7.30 program.
“So that investigation went for six months, and that is a determination that they made”.
Fifteen people, including a 10-year-old girl, were killed and more than 40 injured after Sajid Akram, 50, and Naveed Akram, 24, allegedly opened fire on a Hanukah celebration in the heart of Bondi on Sunday afternoon.
The father was shot dead by police at the scene, while the son suffered critical injuries and was taken to hospital where he remains under police guard.
