NSW Coalition splits over Labor’s gun tightening bill in wake of Bondi Beach massacre

The NSW Coalition has split over the State Labor Government’s plan to tighten gun laws with the Liberal Party in support but the Nationals opposed.

Premier Chris Minns recalled Parliament on Monday, three days before Christmas, in a bid to impose a cap of four firearms per individual, with strict exemptions for primary producers and sporting shooters, who would hold a maximum of 10 firearms.

This is occurring eight days after 15 people including a 10-year-old girl, observing the first day of the Jewish Hannukah festival, were gunned down at Sydney’s Bondi Beach in the worst-ever terrorist attack on Australian soil.

“The evil of anti-Semitism and violent Islamist extremism and words of hate can lead to actions of hatred with devastating consequences,” Mr Minns told Parliament.

“We have no place in our modern, multicultural community for this behaviour.

“Today, at the end of Hannukah, we’ve returned to the Parliament to acknowledge in one, unanimous voice, that we too are spent with grief.”

Liberal Opposition Leader Kellie Sloane, whose Vaucluse electorate covers Bondi where 15 innocent people were killed last week, declared on Monday morning that her party would support Labor’s Terrorism and Other Legislation Amendment Bill 2025 with amendments for community safety and social cohesion.

“Our approach is constructive and responsible,” she said in a statement.

“It is incumbent on Parliament to ensure these reforms are as strong as possible, the framework is robust, targeted and fit for purpose, and consistent with the principles we have previously outlined.”

But Paul Toole, the Opposition’s police spokesman from the Nationals, declared he would be opposed.

“These gun law reforms have had no consultation with industry and are a distraction from the core issue which is anti-Semitism and radicalisation of individuals,” he said on Facebook.

“I will continue to raise the concerns of our communities and I WILL BE VOTING AGAINST THIS BILL.”

Should the laws pass through both houses of Parliament, New South Wales would have Australia’s strictest gun laws, which would be even more stringent than Western Australia’s cap of 10 firearms for farmers and five for recreational hunters introduced last year.

Sajid Akram, a 50-year-old gunman involved in the Bondi massacre, had six licensed firearms as a member of a gun club. He was shot dead by police during the December 14 massacre. His surviving son Naveed Akram, 24, is facing 59 charges including 15 for murder and 40 for attempted murder, committing a terrorist attack and displaying a banned terrorist symbol.

The Nationals member for Myall Lakes Tanya Thompson said Labor’s proposal was an affront to law-abiding gun owners.

“The current approach does little to address the underlying issue of extremism in New South Wales, while placing unnecessary uncertainty on law-abiding people in our regions,” she said on Facebook.

“I am calling on the Minns Government to slow down, listen, and engage in genuine consultation before proceeding with any changes to firearms legislation.”

The Federal Labor member for Hunter Dan Repacholi, an Olympic sporting shooter before getting into politics, has spoken out against the State Labor government’s gun law proposal.

“My position is consistent and clear. Australia has strong gun laws and they save lives, but I do not support changes that unfairly target responsible, law-abiding firearms owners,” he said on Facebook.

“Measures that are blunt, symbolic, or simply designed to appease public anger without improving safety are not the answer.”

Labor lost the election and the previously safe State seat of Cessnock, in the Hunter Valley, in 1988 after country voters across NSW turned on then premier Barrie Unsworth for using regulation to ban semi-automatic weapons, following a spate of shootings in Sydney and Melbourne in 1987.

Former Liberal prime minister John Howard, who led a national move to ban semi-automatic and automatic guns after the 1996 Port Arthur massacre in Tasmania, last week said gun laws should not be a cover for a failure to address anti-Semitism.

Even with the Nationals opposed, the NSW Government would have the numbers to get the legislation through both houses of Parliament before Christmas with support from the Liberal Party.

The Minns Government is also putting forward new legislation to outlaw displays of terrorist symbols, like the ISIS flag, without a reasonable excuse.

The offence will carry a maximum penalty of two years’ imprisonment or a $22,000 fine for individuals and up to $110,000 for organisations, with exceptions for academic or public interest purposes.

Police would also be given more powers to force someone to remove a face covering during a public assembly and not just if they are arrested or suspected of committing a serious, criminal offence.

The Government is also moving to restrict public protests for 14 days after a terrorist attack, with the restrictions able to be extended for 14-day increments over three months.

This is to avoid a repeat of a march on the Opera House and street celebrations in Lakemba, in Sydney’s south-west, following the Hamas-led murder of 1200 Israelis in October 2023.