Australia is set to introduce new laws aimed at implementing a national gun buyback program and tightening background checks for firearm licences, following the country’s deadliest mass shooting in decades, which occurred at a Jewish festival last month. The House of Representatives passed the bill on Tuesday, January 20, with a vote of 96 to 45, despite opposition from conservative lawmakers. The legislation now moves to the Senate, where it is expected to pass with support from the Greens party.

Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke said the December 14 attack at Bondi Beach, which claimed 15 lives, was carried out by people “with hate in their hearts and guns in their hands.” He emphasized that the government must respond to both the motivation and means behind such attacks. “These tragic events demand a comprehensive government response,” Burke said. “We must do everything possible to address both the reasons and the methods used in such attacks.”

The new measures would establish the largest national gun buyback since the 1996 Port Arthur massacre in Tasmania, where 35 people were killed. The legislation also calls for stricter background checks for firearm licences, using information from the Australian Security Intelligence Organisation. The government reported that Australia had a record 4.1 million firearms last year, including over 1.1 million in New South Wales, where the Bondi attack took place. The state has already introduced limits on gun ownership—capping it at four firearms per person (ten for farmers) and requiring licence renewal every two years instead of five.

Burke described the current number of firearms in circulation as “unsustainable.” The bill passed without support from the conservative Liberal-National opposition coalition, which argues that Prime Minister Anthony Albanese’s Labour government has not effectively addressed rising antisemitism. Shadow Attorney-General Andrew Wallace criticized the legislation, saying, “This bill shows the government’s disregard for Australia’s million gun owners, many of whom use guns as tools of trade.”

Parliament, recalled early from its summer break by Albanese, is also considering separate legislation to lower the threshold for prosecuting hate speech. Originally proposed as a single bill, opposition pressure from both the coalition and the Greens led the government to split the package and remove provisions targeting racial vilification. Liberal Party lawmakers have indicated support for the hate speech laws, while the stance of their coalition partner, the Nationals, remains uncertain.