Gun Safety Advocates Support a Ten-Point Plan for Firearm Reform
Australia’s leading public-health, community-safety, and firearm-harm prevention organisations today issued a joint call for urgent reform of the nation’s firearm laws following the fatal attack at Bondi, in which 15 people were killed while attending a Jewish community celebration.
We extend our deepest condolences to the victims and their families and loved ones. This act of terror – in which people were specifically targeted – is a devastating reminder that Australians should be able to gather, celebrate and practise their faith without fear of gun violence.
Australia’s world-renowned firearm framework, established after the Port Arthur tragedy in 1996, has saved countless lives and demonstrated that strong, evidence-based gun laws work. However, nearly three decades on, Australia’s gun laws have not kept pace with changes in firearm technology, shifts in ownership patterns and contemporary risk factors. Firearm ownership in Australia is a privilege, not a right, and it must be justified by genuine public-interest need.
Authorities have confirmed that the weapons used in the Bondi attack were legally owned, exposing serious gaps in licensing, firearm categorisation, storage, oversight and national coordination. It is clear that we must reduce the number of firearms circulating in the community and rigorously tighten regulatory safeguards.
We welcome National Cabinet’s agreement that strong and focused action is needed on gun-law reform – including renegotiating the National Firearms Agreement (NFA) to ensure it remains as robust as possible. Building on the original lifesaving framework and addressing current shortcomings, we are calling for the following reforms:
A Plan of Action to Reduce Firearm Harm
- Remove the recreational hunting licence category
- Further restrict high-capability firearms
- End metropolitan home storage for non-occupational firearms
- Limit the number of firearms per individual
- Explicitly prohibit the use of firearms by children
- Introduce robust, renewable licensing
- Establish national reporting and oversight
- End unlicensed shooting
- Ban political donations from the firearms industry
- Establish a National Firearms Safety Council
OR DOWNLOAD THE FILL REPORT AS A PDF
Honouring those killed at Bondi requires more than words of sympathy – it requires renewed political courage and a recommitment to the principle that public safety must always come before private access to lethal weapons.
Australia has led the world before. We can, and must, do so again.
“The National Firearms Agreement is 30 years old – there have been changes to firearm technology, to ownership patterns, to community expectations. It is time to renew the Agreement and re-prioritise public safety. The Bondi horrors reveal the need for reform.” – Professor Joel Negin, School of Public Health, University of Sydney
“This is a horrific reminder of the need to stay vigilant against violence, and of the importance of ensuring our gun laws continue to protect the safety of all Australians.” – Walter Mikac AM, Founding Patron, Alannah & Madeline Foundation
“Firearms licensing has to be tightened to stem the flood of guns hiding in our suburbs. With sometimes tens or even hundreds of guns under one license holder’s legal genuine reason, we have to question the law’s ability to keep the Australian public safe from gun violence.” – Tim Quinn, President, Gun Control Australia
“There are now over 4 million guns in Australia, more than before Port Arthur. We know how to reduce gun numbers in Australia and we know it works. It’s time for state and federal governments to prioritise public safety, reduce the number of guns in Australia and reform our gun laws.” – Rod Campbell, Research Director, The Australia Institute
Available for interview:
Terry Slevin
CEO, Public Health Association of Australia
[email protected]
Tim Quinn
Roland Browne
Gun Control Australia
[email protected]
Stephen Bendle
Advocacy Advisor, Alannah & Madeline Foundation Convenor, Australian Gun Safety Alliance
0499 202 001
[email protected]
Professor Joel Negin
Professor of Global Health, Sydney School of Public Health
[email protected]
Rod Cambell
Research Director, Australia Institute
[email protected]
The Australian Gun Safety Alliance is a broad coalition of voices representing the interests of the community in ensuring that we maintain vigilance on issues of gun safety. www.gunsafetyalliance.org.au