Australia is set to recall both houses of parliament ahead of schedule to legislate so-called hate speech and gun laws in the wake of last month’s Bondi Beach massacre, AFP reported on Monday.
Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said he would summon the parliaments for a sitting on Jan. 19-20 to pass the new bills and offer condolences to the 15 victims of the Dec. 14 terrorist attack carried out against attendees of a Chanukah candle lighting event, the report said.
Australian authorities say a father-and-son pair, inspired by Islamic State ideology, opened fire on crowds gathered for a celebration of the Jewish holiday, killing and wounding dozens in a premeditated, antisemitic terrorist attack.
“The terrorists at Bondi Beach had hatred in their minds but guns in their hands—this law will deal with both,” Albanese told reporters.
The legislation will consist of new offenses for “hate preachers,” toughen hate crime penalties, expand a list of proscribed symbols “and set the framework for a new list of banned hate groups,” according to AFP.
The home affairs ministers will be given greater powers to reject or cancel visas for individuals who spread hatred, Albanese added.
Regarding gun laws, legislation will enable the government to initiate a national gun buyback scheme, as well as enforce stricter inquiries on gun licenses.
Details of the draft bills are slated for public release on Tuesday.
Australian lawmakers were scheduled to return to work on Feb. 3 after their summer break, the report noted.
The last time Australia launched a firearms buyback program was in the aftermath of a mass shooting in 1996 that killed 35 people at Port Arthur, Tasmania.
Last week, the government announced a royal commission inquiry into the Sydney massacre.
Officials and critics had demanded a high-powered federal inquiry into the antisemitic attack.
“I’ve repeatedly said that our government’s priority is to promote unity and social cohesion. And this is what Australia needs to heal,” Albanese told reporters in announcing the inquiry on Jan. 8.
The highest level of government inquiry in Australia will investigate everything from intelligence failures to the prevalence of antisemitism in the country, according to AFP.
On Friday, President Donald Trump’s special envoy on antisemitism said Washington is closely watching Australia’s royal commission into the Bondi Beach terrorist attack amid concern over Albanese’s past pro‑Palestinian activism and his government’s handling of antisemitism.
Rabbi Yehuda Kaploun told The Australian that Trump and U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio want “full transparency” from the inquiry and are monitoring how Canberra responds before drawing conclusions.
