What's changed after Bondi

How Australian laws have changed after Bondi

After the antisemitic terror attack in Bondi in December, the NSW Government recalled parliament to push through new laws on gun ownership, protests and hate speech. The laws were passed, but they are controversial, with some saying they went too far. So in this Squiz Shortcut, we’ll run you through:

• what’s changed so far;

• what might change soon; and

• and what reviews/inquiries/Royal Commissions are in the works.

Prefer to listen or watch?

Listen to Larissa Moore and Andrew Williams cover this topic in this Squiz Shortcut podcast episode, or check it out on YouTube - and hit subscribe while you’re at it.

Listen/watch time: 12 minutes

Squiz the Shortcut

The Bondi terror attack - so terribly sad…
And shocking… It continues to dominate the headlines as a consequence. To start at the beginning, authorities were quick to label the 14 December antisemitic attack targeting a Jewish Hanukkah celebration in Bondi that killed 15 people an act of terror. And since then, governments have scrambled to look at what can be done to prevent it from happening again.

Where do we start?
Probably with the NSW Government, given that’s where it happened. Premier Chris Minns recalled parliament - that is, brought everyone back from their holiday break - to vote on the new laws. They passed on Christmas Eve, so there's every chance you might have missed it…

Let’s say I did…
There was a lot in it, and you can break it into 3 main chunks: guns, protests, and hate speech. But one of the reasons this was hotly debated is that it was all part of one bill, and some pollies had different issues with different sections.

Let's start with guns - what's changed?
The laws specifically change the NSW Firearms Act, which came into being after the Port Arthur massacre in 1996. Even though it happened in Tasmania, it shaped how governments around the country dealt with gun laws - and we're seeing something similar now, with other states also considering changes. A key change in NSW is the limit on the number of guns someone can own. Before these laws, there were no real limits on how many guns someone in NSW could own. Now, if you're a recreational licenceholder, you can only own 4 guns - and for commercial licence-holders, it's 10. So that would include farmers, for example.

Any other differences?
The licence period has changed to 2 years - it was about 5 before. And you can no longer appeal having your licence denied either.

Got you. And wasn’t there something about Aussie citizenship?
Yep - the laws also prevent anyone who isn't an Australian citizen from holding a gun licence.

What about the guns that were used?
Certain types of guns, including the ones that were allegedly used in the Bondi attacks, have changed categories. Guns like pump-action or lever-release guns have been changed to category C, which means "prohibited for occupational/official purposes".

Were these changes broadly supported?
They had the support of the Labor government, the Greens and the Libs - but not the Nats. Nationals leader Gurmesh Singh said the new laws would make it harder for farmers and similar businesses to do their jobs.

Ok, let’s move on to hate speech. What’s changed there?
This mostly has to do with where you can display symbols associated with terrorist organisations - think in particular of the flag of Islamic State. There will be new penalties for that - 2 years imprisonment, a $22,000 fine, or both. Police allege that the shooters had possession of an Islamic State flag.

Was there support for that?
There were issues raised there, too - the Libs wanted those penalties to be greater, looking for 5 years instead of 2, but 2 is where it landed. There are exceptions to the rule, though - if there is a legitimate academic or public interest reason for displaying the symbols, you can get an exemption.

And part 3 - protest laws…
These came into effect immediately after they were passed. They give NSW Police new powers when it comes to public assemblies - ie the gathering of large groups.

Those powers are?
The Police Commissioner now has the power to refuse any public assembly up to 3 months after a terrorist incident - extending that power by 2 weeks initially and then more periods of 2 weeks at a time as they see fit.

All large gatherings?
It essentially means they have the power to stop public protests from going ahead. They also have the power during public protests to make demands that protestors remove face coverings.

So there’s been no protests in NSW since the attack?
Not quite… You might have noticed a protest still went ahead in Sydney yesterday over the recent capture of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and his wife Cilia Flores - here’s an explainer on why that was still allowed.

The right to protest is a part of our democracy. How has all that gone down?
Several groups have raised the alarm that the laws go too far, and some are planning to challenge them in the courts. They include the Blak Caucus, a First Nations group, and the Palestine Action Group, who said that it infringes on "the implied freedom of communication, which is essentially the freedom of speech".

What are they going to do about it?
There’s a challenge being cooked up on constitutional grounds - that’s expected to get underway sometime this month.

How about outside of NSW - any changes there?
Yep - it isn't just NSW taking action. Victorian Premier Jacinta Allan said her state will be introducing its own protest laws this year, similar to the NSW version. And there have been some changes at the federal level as well.

I did hear something about that…
This largely happened before we went on break, so every chance…

Is this about national gun laws?
Yep. There's a national gun buyback scheme in the works, similar to the one then-PM John Howard brought in after the Port Arthur massacre. And there's also planned legislation for this year for new federal hate speech laws - that'll include giving the Home Affairs minister more power to cancel visas of any foreign national who is suspected of engaging in hate speech, and a new offence for advocating violence against protected groups. Plus, the existing hate speech penalties will be made stronger.

Will there be more changes to come?
Yes - this year will see many reviews and inquiries that could turn up even more changes. There are obviously lots of questions as to what could have been done in the leadup to the attack in terms of curbing antisemitism and guns, or whether there were any security or policing failures. At the moment we have a NSW-led state Royal Commission in the works that will look into those issues. And federally, PM Anthony Albanese has also announced a review into Australia's federal security and intelligence agencies.

Who’s leading that?
It'll be called the Richardson Review as it will be led by the former Secretary of the Defence and Foreign Affairs department Dennis Richardson. It's expected to take 4-5 months, and it's going to be specifically focused on organisations like the Australian Security Intelligence Organisation, the Australian Federal Police and the Australian Secret Intelligence Service.

Some pretty serious folk there…
Ooh yeah - but not everyone is happy with this approach. Over the past couple of weeks, many groups - including families of some of the victims of Bondi, the Coalition, business groups, sports stars, former Labor pollies and more - have called for a federal Royal Commission instead.

Why have they said that?
One of the arguments is that the terms of the Richardson review are too narrow, that it will take place behind closed doors, it won't include the government itself - such as Cabinet ministers - as part of its inquiry, and it won't probe the issue of antisemitism in Australia closely enough.

So is the PM likely to change tack?
Albanese’s holding the line… He says a Royal Commission would take years and would mean no quick answers, and he’s also said many of those things will be covered off in the NSW Royal Commission, and a federal version would be doubling up. So that’s an ongoing story to watch…

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Onto our Recommendations

Reading: This piece from SBS covers some of the arguments for and against a federal Royal Commission into the Bondi attacks.

Reading: And this piece from The Conversation takes a more in-depth look at how Australia’s gun laws have changed since Bondi.

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