BY THE OPTIMIST DAILY EDITORIAL TEAM
Eight months after a shooting at a Hanukkah celebration in Bondi Beach killed 15 people, Australia is following through. New South Wales starts a gun buyback on November 2, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese confirmed Sunday. It’s the largest the country has run since Port Arthur.
What the buyback looks like
People returning rifles and handguns get up to A$1,000 (around $700) per firearm. Albanese and New South Wales Premier Chris Minns announced it together, with both federal and state governments behind it.
It’s part of a January package that also included tighter gun licence checks and a crackdown on hate. New South Wales added its own cap: individuals can now legally own a maximum of four guns under state law.
Why the numbers matter
Australia hit a record 4.1 million registered firearms last year, more than 1.1 million of them in New South Wales. The firearms used in the December attack were legally obtained, which is part of why the political response moved as fast as it did. “Australians are quite rightly proud of our gun laws,” Albanese said in televised remarks, “but the fact is there are more guns in Australia today than there were at the time of dealing with the Port Arthur gun buyback.”
Police say the attack was carried out by a father and son they believe were inspired by Islamic State. The surviving suspect, Naveed Akram, 24, hasn’t entered pleas yet on charges that include 15 counts of murder.
The Port Arthur comparison
The 1996 Port Arthur massacre in Tasmania killed 35 people. The buyback that followed removed roughly 650,000 firearms and is credited with a sustained drop in mass shootings afterward. Whether this one gets there depends on how many people participate, which won’t be clear for months. November 2 is the start date.
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