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Australia on Sunday revealed details of a buyback scheme for firearms made illegal following a deadly mass shooting at Sydney’s Bondi Beach in December.<\/p>\n
The shooting saw two gunmen, a father and son, open fire on crowds celebrating the Jewish festival of Hanukkah at Bondi Beach, killing 15 people and wounding dozens.<\/p>\n
New South Wales (NSW) will be the first state in the country to begin the buyback scheme, state Premier Chris Minns said.<\/p>\n
“After the horrific anti-Semitic terrorist attack at Bondi Beach, we made a commitment to the people of NSW that we would strengthen our gun laws and do everything we could to make our community safer,” Minns said.<\/p>\n
From November 2, gun owners in NSW will be offered up to $1,000 Australian ($708 US) to hand over weapons affected by new ownership limits and classification changes.<\/p>\n
A second phase of the scheme, in early 2027, will see compensation for eligible higher-value firearms.<\/p>\n
“This will be the largest program to get dangerous guns off our streets in almost 30 years,” Minns said.<\/p>\n
“There is no single law that can eliminate every risk. But fewer dangerous guns in our community means a safer NSW.”<\/p>\n
Minns estimated up to 274,000 firearms would be removed from circulation through the buyback.<\/p>\n
Following the Bondi attack, the NSW government passed new gun laws that capped and restricted the number and type of firearms a person can own, strengthened checks on people looking to own firearms and reduced the licence period from five to two years.<\/p>\n
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese pledged a national buyback scheme days after the attack. However, these plans have been delayed over funding and implementation uncertainties.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n