Prime Minister Anthony Albanese on Friday (local time) announced a national gun buyback scheme, describing it as the largest since John Howard’s landmark initiative following the Port Arthur massacre.
Speaking to reporters in Canberra and quoted by the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC), Albanese said the new program would mirror the approach taken in 1996 and focus on removing surplus, newly banned, and illegal firearms.
The Prime Minister said legislation would soon be introduced to secure funding for the plan, with the Commonwealth sharing costs equally with the states and territories. Under the proposal, those state and territory governments will oversee the collection, processing, and compensation for surrendered firearms.
Albanese noted that Australia now has more than four million firearms - more than at the time of the Port Arthur tragedy.
“The terrible events at Bondi show we need to get more guns off our streets,” he said.
“We know that one of these terrorists held a firearm license and had six guns, in spite of living in the middle of Sydney's suburbs. There’s no reason why someone in that situation needed that many guns.”
Meanwhile, the federal and New South Wales governments have declared Sunday, December 21, a day of reflection to honour the victims of the antisemitic terror attack at Bondi. Flags on all government buildings in New South Wales and across the Commonwealth will be flown at half-mast on that day.
Albanese said the government would also collaborate with the Jewish community to organize a national day of mourning in memory of the victims.
On Wednesday, 59 charges were filed against Naveed Akram, one of the perpetrators of the fatal attack in Sydney.
Among the charges are: committing an act of terrorism and 15 counts of murder - one for each of the 15 victims in the attack. Akram carried out the attack with his father, Sajid Akram, 50, who was killed at the scene.
ABC reported this week that Australia’s domestic intelligence agency, ASIO, had examined Naveed Akram six years ago over his ties to a Sydney-based ISIS cell.
Later, security sources confirmed that both terrorists had traveled to the Philippines to receive “military-style training” just weeks before the attack.