Rushed firearms laws punish the regions: MPs

New firearms laws pushed forward by the NSW government in response to the terrorism attack at Bondi Beach last month have been described as “rushed” and “penalising regional people”.

State and federal politicians have condemned the move to further tighten gun laws which many have said will not address the circumstances behind the incident.

When state parliament was recalled just before Christmas, Member for Barwon Roy Butler attempted to delay the government’s “rushed laws”.

The new laws, which passed both houses, will see rules significantly tightened to cap firearm ownership at four per person (with exemptions for primary producers and sports shooters who may hold a maximum of 10), banning belt-fed magazines, introducing more frequent licence renewals and ongoing checks, and restricting licences to Australian citizens only among a list of other changes.

An e-petition was launched in response to the government’s new restrictions and quickly gathered thousands of signatures.

Mr Butler sought to amend the laws to remove the cap on firearms for sports shooters and to grandfather existing license holders so they can keep the firearms they already legally own.

He also asked for the government’s bill to be split so the new protest laws could go through, but the firearms restrictions could be referred to a parliamentary committee for further consideration.

“The firearms licensing changes are complex and will take many months to implement, so whether this legislation is passed now or in 2026 after the appropriate consideration won’t affect the actual start date of the changes,” said Mr Butler in December following the sitting of parliament.

“The firearms industry hasn’t been consulted at all, and regional voices are being ignored, which means these new laws have plenty of unintended consequences. These include a greater risk of exposing criminal intelligence, weakening government control of license hearings and imposing a greater burden on over-worked police.

“Perhaps worst of all – these laws do nothing to address the drivers of the Bondi terror attack, which include rising antisemitism, licensing failures, and poor intelligence sharing.

“Instead, these laws demonise law-abiding firearm owners.”

NSW Nationals leader Gurmesh Singh said the party agreed to work in good faith with the Minns Labor government on a bipartisan solution.

“We had hoped to strengthen hate speech laws, illegal assembly laws, as well as review the settings on firearms laws, but bi-partisanship works both ways,” Mr Singh said.

“Not only has there been a clear lack of meaningful engagement with the Opposition and crossbench, the Minns Labor government failed to consult key regional stakeholders including NSW Farmers and the Country Mayors Association.

“We cannot support a bill that relies on arbitrary limits and doesn’t give our regional businesses the tools they need to do their jobs.”

Mr Singh said the reforms would not have stopped December’s attack and failed to address the root cause of the issue – antisemitism.

“The NSW Nationals will not be supporting the legislation and will continue to stand up for the diverse communities of NSW who
deserve better,” he said.

Federal leader of the Nationals, David Littleproud said the state government had failed to meaningfully consult with regional communities and instead was cynically attempting to conflate new laws banning hate symbols, with the distinctly separate issue of gun reform.

“This is not a gun problem, it is an Islamic extremist problem,” Mr Littleproud said.

“While we support measures to strengthen hate speech laws, this issue should not be conflated with law-abiding gun ownership.

“Conflating the issues is offensive to the thousands of law abiding, honest firearm users and a disgraceful smokescreen for government failure.

“If guns were not used in the Bondi terrorist attack, the terrorists would have found another weapon, be it a bomb, a vehicle or a knife, because this is an antisemitic and extremist problem.”

When promoting the proposed changes, ahead of their adoption, Premier Chris Minns acknowledged gun reform alone would not solve hatred or extremism.

“But we can’t fail to act on restricting access to weapons which could lead to further violence against our citizens,” Mr Minns said.

“We cannot undo what happened in Bondi, but we can act decisively to reduce the risk of this ever happening again.

“These reforms are about one thing: protecting people.”

Minister for Police and Counter-terrorism Yasmin Catley said the reforms were about putting the safety of the community above all else.

“Owning a firearm is a privilege, not a right and we are balancing that privilege with the overwhelming need for public safety,” Ms Catley said.

“Our strong legislation reduces risk and increases oversight around firearms ownership with the aim of making this state safer for all.”