Earlier this week, Australia was shaken by an act of terror and mass violence when two gunmen opened fire on a Chanukah celebration at Bondi Beach in Sydney.
We stand in grief, love and solidarity with Australia’s Jewish community and with all Australians in the wake of this unspeakable act, which has so far claimed 15 lives, including one child, and irreversibly changed many more.
We also honour and acknowledge the immense courage of the NSW Police, Paramedics, and many bystanders who helped keep people safe despite extreme risk to their own safety.
For us at the Alannah & Madeline Foundation and for many other Australians, the use of firearms to inflict violence and terror in the community recalls the senseless tragedy at Port Arthur in 1996, in whose shadow our Foundation was established.
Since then, we have fought to keep Australia’s gun laws safe and strong, so that no more families have to experience the pain and trauma of gun violence.
This tragic event is a sobering reminder of the need for vigilance in upholding our gun laws.
Australia’s firearms framework, established after the Port Arthur tragedy, has saved countless lives and demonstrate that strong, evidence-based gun laws work to protect public safety.
More guns now than at the time of Port Arthur
Investigations into the Bondi shooting are ongoing and it will be some time before we know the full details, but we do know that the six guns used as part of the attack were “legal” guns – the community are right to ask the question: “why is a person in Australia allowed to own six guns?”
In a report published earlier this year, the Australia Institute found that there were 25% more guns in Australia in 2025 than there were at the time of the Port Arthur tragedy. The same report found that 1 in 3 firearms in NSW were located not in rural or regional areas, but in major cities.
This is desperately out of line with community expectations. Australians want fewer guns, not more.
After Port Arthur, Australia made a collective commitment to put community safety first, and that commitment remains as important today as ever.
The community, rightly, expects our gun laws to place tight restrictions on gun ownership and use – and for there to be fewer, not more, guns in our community.
Following the Port Arthur tragedy, Australia led the world in gun safety. But over the last three decades, these laws have been whittled away by special interests and the might of the firearms industry.
This is unacceptable. Firearm ownership in Australia is a privilege, not a right – and their ownership and use should always be conditional on public safety.
We have developed an action plan to reduce gun ownership and use in Australia, with the following reforms:
Prohibit anyone under the age of 18 from using firearms. All jurisdictions circumvent the NFA by allowing junior permits, which allow children as young as 12 to legally use firearms. There is no public benefit in this other than creating a new generation of firearm enthusiasts.
The voice of the community and the imperative of public safety should be front and centre and needs to be heard clearly in policy discussions. The establishment of a National Firearms Council would assist national dialogue and leadership on gun laws. The Council should not be overrepresented by the firearm industry.
Firearm licences must not be issued in perpetuity or on a “set-and-forget” basis. We propose regular, in-person renewals, with strengthened “fit and proper person” assessments, risk-based checks and mandatory security reviews.
Place a cap on the maximum number of firearms an individual can own to reduce stockpiling and limit diversion, theft and misuse. Standards should require each person to have no more than the minimum number of firearms that is necessary for their licensed purpose.
Firearms with features that enable rapid or mass harm – including magazines and rapid-reload capability – must be reclassified into the most restrictive categories and removed from general civilian access. These reforms must be supported by a properly funded national amnesty and buy-back program. For example, centrefire rifles and lever-action shotguns with magazines must be reclassified as Category C or D.
Create a national firearms monitoring institute to collect and publish consistent data, evaluate firearm harms and oversee compliance across jurisdictions. This body should be independently funded, including through a levy on firearm clubs and licensing systems.
Firearms are lethal weapons, not household items. For non-occupational use, firearms should not be stored in suburban homes. Firearms used for sporting or club purposes should be stored exclusively in accredited club armouries with professional security standards, strict access controls and auditable custody logs.
Allowing people to shoot at public ranges without a licence undermines the entire licensing system and poses a significant risk to the community.
Recreational use does not constitute a public-safety justification for widespread private firearm ownership. If a firearm is not required for genuine occupational need, primary production, or tightly regulated professional use, the user should not be licensed.
Where to from here
It is encouraging that NSW Premier Chris Minns and our national patron, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, have expressed their willingness to review our existing gun laws.
We have been in touch with both leaders since the tragedy on Sunday, and we look forward to working with them to ensure all Australians, especially children, are safe from gun violence.
Honouring those killed at Bondi Beach – and the legacy of Port Arthur including Alannah and Madeline Mikac, after whom our organisation is named – requires more than words of sympathy. It requires courage and a renewed commitment to public safety as the guiding principle of our firearm laws.
Australia has led the world before – we can, and must, do so again.
Earlier this week, Australia was shaken by an act of terror and mass violence when two gunmen opened fire on a Chanukah celebration at Bondi Beach in Sydney. For the Alannah & Madeline Foundation’s founding patron, Walter Mikac, and many other Australians, this tragedy reopens deep and painful wounds of the Port Arthur tragedy in 1996.
During moments of uncertainty, which can be daunting and complex, children look up to the adults in their lives for information, guidance, courage and support. It’s important for parents and caregivers to provide support and comfort to children and young people.
We at the Alannah & Madeline Foundation are devastated by the horrific act of violence at Bondi Beach last night. Our hearts go out to the victims, their families, the first responders, and to the Jewish community.
