Bondi shooting: NSW likely to introduce new gun laws in wake of massacre, Minns says

New South Wales is likely to have new gun laws in the wake of the Bondi Beach massacre in Sydney, Premier Chris Minns has confirmed, with National Cabinet meeting on Monday to discuss new firearm restrictions.

Fifteen innocent people are dead and 38 injured after father and son Sajid Abram, 50, and Naveed Akram, 24, opened fire on crowds celebrating the Jewish holiday of Hanukkah, near the Bondi Pavilion late on Sunday. Abram senior was killed at the scene by police and his son is in hospital under police guard where he is expected to be charged.

Questions are mounting as to how the duo were able to be in possession of guns used in the terrorist attack.

On Monday, it was confirmed that Abram had six licensed firearms as a recreational hunter who belonged to a gun club.

Mr Minns flagged new legislation that would leave a “lasting impact”, arguing there was no need for someone in suburbia to have a gun licence in perpetuity if they weren’t a farmer.

“The short answer is yes. They need to change and they can change,” he told reporters in Sydney on Monday.

“It does require legislation and it means introducing a bill to Parliament, to be really blunt, make it more difficult to get these horrifying weapons that have no practical use in our community.

“If you’re not a farmer, if your not involved in agriculture, why do you need these massive weapons that put the public in danger and make life dangerous and difficult for New South Wales Police?”

Police Commissioner Mal Lanyon confirmed the dead man had a class AB licence for recreational hunting with a gun club that entitled him to a long-arm weapons.

“He met the eligibility criteria for a firearms licence,” he said.

“The firearms licence was to be for a recreational hunting licence.

“He was a member of a gun club and was entitled by nature of the Firearms Act to have a firearms licence issued.”

Mr Minns confirmed he would consider recalling Parliament for urgent gun reform.

National Cabinet, featuring Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, state premiers and territory chief ministers are meeting on Monday to discuss nationally-uniform gun laws.

“Well, some laws are Commonwealth, and some are implemented by the states,” Mr Albanese told reporters.

“What we want to do is to make sure that we’re all completely on the same page. That is one of the reasons why I’m convening the National Cabinet today as a matter of urgency.”

Change would be reminiscent of 1996 when national gun laws were introduced banning automatic and semi-automatic weapons in the wake of the April 1996 Port Arthur massacre in Tasmania.

The Bondi massacre marks the worst atrocity in Sydney since August 1991 when seven people were killed at Strathfield Plaza.

The Australian Federal Police Association said a National Firearms Registry could not wait until 2028 and needed to include tracking of ammunition sales and supply.

“We cannot afford to wait for another tragedy to highlight these failings,” AFPA president Alex Caruna said.

Former Liberal prime minister Malcolm Turnbull, who lives in Sydney’s eastern suburbs a short drive from Bondi, questioned how a man living in suburbia could have so many guns.

“I think a legitimate question has been raised about how the father, the 50-year-old, had so many guns,” he told the ABC.

“Weren’t all licensed but I think a very fair question being asked is why somebody living in suburban Sydney was licenced to have so many long arms.”