Gun reforms must pass now to keep Australians safe
We welcome the Prime Minister’s decision to pursue the firearm reforms included in the Combatting Antisemitism, Hate and Extremism Bill 2026. This is the right decision for Australia’s safety, and these measures must proceed without delay.
Protecting Australians from gun violence must always come before politics. The firearm reforms going before the Federal Parliament are critical and will save lives. They strengthen our gun laws, ensure guns are kept out of the hands of individuals who pose a threat to the community, and reduce the risk of mass shootings.
The firearm changes close long-standing and dangerous loopholes by strengthening background checks for firearm licence applicants, facilitating intelligence sharing on high-risk individuals, strengthening import controls on firearms capable of causing mass harm, and laying the groundwork for a national firearms buyback scheme.
The events of 14 December 2025 showed, in the most tragic and confronting way, what happens when our gun laws fail. These are not weapons that should be widely available in our community.
Now that the Bill has been split, Parliament must pass the firearms reforms without hesitation. We welcome the Greens’ support of these vital public safety measures.
All members and senators must understand that opposing or delaying these reforms is not a neutral position. Failure to support stronger gun laws means knowingly leaving dangerous loopholes open and putting public safety at risk.
Keeping people safe is a fundamental responsibility of government. Blocking gun reform would abandon that responsibility and leave in place the same systemic failures that allowed a deadly attack to occur.
Australians expect leadership, courage and action. This legislation will save lives, and we urge all parliamentarians to stand up for the safety of our community.