Australian Parliament backs tighter gun, hate crime laws after Bondi attack 

Australian lawmakers have passed tougher laws against hate crime and gun violence in response to last month’s mass shooting at a Jewish festival at Sydney’s Bondi Beach.

On Tuesday, the House of Representatives voted in favour of a new national gun buyback scheme, tighter gun licence checks and a crackdown on hate crimes.

Fifteen people, most of them Jewish, were killed when two gunmen opened fire on a Hanukkah celebration at the iconic Sydney beach on December 14. They were later disarmed by a Muslim hero, Ahmed al-Ahmed.

Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke said the attack had been carried out by individuals with “hate in their hearts and guns in their hands” and that it demanded “a comprehensive response from government”.

Australian authorities have said the suspected attackers, Sajid Akram and his son Naveed, were inspired by the ISIL (ISIS) group.

“As a government, we must do everything we can to counter both the motivation and the method,” said Burke.

The legislative reforms on guns and hate speech were voted on separately and must still be approved by the upper house, the Senate, which was expected to vote later in the day.

The gun control laws are expected to pass with the support of the Greens despite opposition from the conservative Liberal-National Coalition, while the anti-hate laws are likely to pass with support from the Liberal Party.

New firearms rules will enable background checks for gun permits with input from intelligence services.

Shadow Attorney General Andrew Wallace of the Liberals said the bill revealed “the contempt the government has for the million gun owners of Australia”.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese recalled parliament early from its summer break for this week’s special two-day session.