The Federal Government has passed stronger gun laws, with support from the Greens and the crossbench. It also passed its hate speech laws at the eleventh hour with support from the Liberals
Wed 21 Jan 2026 01.00
Photo: AAP Image/Mick Tsikas
The Federal Government has passed stronger gun laws, with support from the Greens and the crossbench.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese promised reforms in the wake of the 2025 Bondi Beach shooting, where 15 people were killed in a targeted attack on the Jewish community.
The changes include the first major national gun buyback since the Port Arthur massacre in 1996 and banning the importation of some rapidly reloading rifles and shotguns.
Australia Institute research shows there are now more than 4 million guns in the community, and one gun is stolen every four hours in Australia.
“Gun law reforms can’t stop hate or antisemitism, but these reforms will help stop hate from turning into the kind of horror we saw in Bondi,” said Ebony Bennett, deputy director of the Australia Institute.
“Not only are there at least 800,000 more guns in the Australian community now than before the Port Arthur massacre, but they are being kept in large numbers in our cities and suburbs,” Ms Bennett said.
Independent MP Helen Haines, who was the only regional non-government MP to vote in favour of the gun laws, said the laws were “common-sense.”
“This bill does not ban firearms… and it does not blame licensed gun owners for acts of violence,” Dr Haines said.
“What it does do is strengthen safeguards and help prevent guns from falling into the wrong hands.
“That is common sense – and it’s what Australians expect.”
The Albanese Government had initially attempted to push through changes in a single bill that included amendments to both gun laws and hate speech laws, however that initial bill was split when it became clear that both the Greens and the Coalition would refuse to support the omnibus bill.
However, after passing its gun laws, the Government later managed to secure a deal with the Liberals to get support for its hate speech laws, and the bill passed 38 votes to 22 just after 11pm, after a number of amendments failed.
In a statement yesterday afternoon, the Australian Greens said:
“The changes represent an unprecedented expansion of political power to ban organisations and criminalise speech based on vague standards like “ridicule” and “contempt. Amendments agreed to in secret between the Coalition and Labor have only made the laws more dangerous, greatly expanding their reach well beyond legitimate efforts to end violence, promote safety and reduce political and social division.”
In his speech to the Senate, Greens Senator David Shoebridge said a failure of ASIO and security agencies was being used to punish the multicultural community in Australia.
“We will not stand quietly in the corner while these parties [Labor and the Coalition] stand together and make it a crime to stand against a genocide,” Senator Shoebridge said.
The hate speech laws were widely criticised for being excessively broad and wide reaching, including by the Greens, the Institute of Public Affairs, and politicians like Senator Matt Canavan.
The lack of time given to parliamentarians to review the laws was also roundly criticised.
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