Australia vows to strengthen hate speech laws, gun control in wake of Bondi Beach attack

In the aftermath of the wide shooting onslaught astatine Bondi Beach during a Hanukkah celebration, Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese announced a nationalist weapon buyback programme and projected caller hatred code laws.

While the authorities has not yet been drafted, it is already causing contention arsenic fears that the laws could beryllium wielded arsenic governmental weapons emerge. Critics person besides said that neither the weapon buyback nor the hatred code laws are addressing the basal of what led to the panic attack.

"Well, it's a spot hard for them to really fortify the laws. It's not wide what they're proposing to do," Dr. Reuben Kirkham, 1 of the directors of the Free Speech Union of Australia, told Fox News Digital. "What they're astir apt going to effort and bash is widen it to see a clump of things that are not to bash with hatred speech, necessarily."

Albanese told reporters connected Friday that the authorities was moving to "get the laws right" and acknowledged the complexities surrounding the issue. He said that "there are issues of escaped code progressive successful this arsenic good — we privation to marque definite that these laws don't get passed and past get knocked over."

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Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese meets constabulary officers during a sojourn to the NSW Police headquarters, pursuing a deadly shooting incidental during a Jewish vacation solemnisation astatine Bondi Beach, successful Sydney, Australia, Dec. 16, 2025.  (Hollie Adams/Reuters)

The projected changes see national offenses for "aggravated hatred speech," aimed astatine preachers who beforehand unit and "serious vilification" based connected race, the Australian Broadcasting Corporation reported. The outlet noted that conscionable 10 months ago, the authorities strengthened national hatred code laws with the extremity of curbing antisemitism and Islamophobia.

Simultaneously, New South Wales (NSW), wherever the panic onslaught took place, is considering banning chants of the operation "globalize the intifada," which galore see to beryllium an antisemitic telephone for unit against Jews. The prohibition would besides use to nationalist displays of ISIS flags and extremist symbols.

Additionally, NSW Premier Chris Minns said, nether the ban, constabulary would beryllium fixed much powers to request that protesters region look coverings during demonstrations, according to The Associated Press.

People adhd to a floral tribute extracurricular Bondi Pavilion astatine Bondi Beach successful Sydney, Thursday, Dec. 18, 2025.  (AP Photo/Steve Markham)

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Kirkham told Fox News Digital that existing anti-vilification laws person already been utilized to unopen down code that opposes authorities views. He believes that if these laws are strengthened successful the aftermath of the Bondi Beach shooting, they would beryllium utilized arsenic governmental weapons, alternatively than protections for mundane people. Additionally, Kirkham said that helium sees this arsenic the authorities utilizing the onslaught arsenic an accidental to walk laws that acceptable its views.

Furthermore, Kirkham argues that Albanese's connection could really summation antisemitism alternatively than enactment an extremity to it.

"What they’re fundamentally saying is, ‘Well, we request much censorship laws. Why? Well, seemingly to support Jewish people.’ So what they’re saying to these communities is, ‘We’re censoring you to support the Jews.’ I mean, however is that going to spell down? Is that going to amended the contented of antisemitism, oregon is it going to marque it worse?"

While the Australian authorities has focused its effect connected hatred code and weapon laws, critics, specified arsenic Kirkham, accidental the Bondi Beach onslaught revealed quality failures.

Albanese said Friday that quality indicated that the onslaught astatine Bondi Beach was successful information inspired by ISIS.

"We've been informed that the Office of National Intelligence has identified a regular online video provender from ISIS that reinforces that this was an ISIS-inspired attack. Further enactment has been done by the information agencies astir motivation, and we'll proceed to conscionable and supply them with immoderate enactment they request astatine this hard time," Albanese told reporters.

Fox News Digital reached retired to Albanese's bureau for comment.

Bystanders were seen confronting 1 of the gunmen down the deadly onslaught connected a Hanukkah solemnisation astatine Australia's Bondi Beach. (Jenny/Reuters)

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Bill Roggio, a elder chap astatine the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, told Fox News Digital that governments successful the West person routinely failed to tackle the problems down Islamic extremism-inspired attacks.

"The occupation present is there's this extremist Islamist ideology that spans a spectrum from governmental Islam, the Muslim Brotherhood, to Hamas and Palestinian violent groups, to al-Qaeda and Islamic State, and we successful the West garbage to, and person from the precise opening since 9/11, garbage to really instrumentality that on," Roggio said. "We don't privation to admit that determination is an existent occupation wrong Islam, not with Islam, but wrong Islam."

As authorities analyse the shooting attack, a focal constituent has go the father-son gunmen's travel to the Philippines conscionable earlier the shooting astatine Bondi Beach.

The GV Hotel successful Davao City said that the men booked their enactment done a 3rd enactment and were initially scheduled to get connected Nov. 15 but alternatively arrived connected Nov. 1, according to Reuters. An worker told Reuters the 2 booked the country for 7 days but extended their enactment 3 times and paid successful cash. The edifice idiosyncratic besides said that the men hardly interacted with unit and that they had nary visitors.

Philippine National Police Brig. Gen. Leon Victor Rosete, the Davao region’s constabulary director, told the Guardian that the older gunman was funny successful firearms. He besides spoke of the gunmen's "jog walk" that was captured connected CCTV, adding that the 2 appeared to beryllium doing "physical conditioning" exercises.

"The begetter has shown involvement successful firearms. He entered a firearms shop," Rosete told the Guardian. He aboriginal said that they did not sojourn immoderate firing ranges successful Davao.

A divided representation shows an ISIS emblem held by masked men, left, and a police-secured transgression country astatine Bondi Beach successful Australia pursuing a shooting. (Tauseef Mustafa/David Gray/AFP via Getty Images)

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Davao City is located connected the land of Mindanao, which has been nether a "Level 3: Reconsider Travel" advisory since May. However, the State Department said Davao City, successful summation to a fewer different locations, is an objection to the advisory.

Roggio told Fox News Digital that Mindanao is simply a "known hotbed for Islamist groups."

"If they weren't astatine existent camps to get training, they could person been getting proposal connected however to crippled the attack, wherever to crippled the attack, what the people should be," Roggio told Fox News Digital. He said the 2 could person besides received further "indoctrination" portion successful the Philippines.

People sojourn a floral tribute extracurricular the Bondi Pavilion pursuing Sunday's shooting astatine Bondi Beach, successful Sydney, Friday, Dec. 19, 2025.  (Steve Markham/AP Photo)

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"Three weeks-plus isn't capable to go a highly businesslike two-man occurrence team, but they intelligibly got capable grooming to marque that happen," Roggio said.

As authorities enactment to portion unneurotic however and wherefore the Bondi Beach onslaught occurred, the statement implicit the government’s effect continues, with critics informing that a band-aid solution volition neglect to code the basal of the problem.