Australia’s parliament on Tuesday overwhelmingly approved sweeping new hate crime and firearms legislation in response to the Chanukah terror attack on Bondi Beach in which gunmen targeting Jewish Australians murdered 15 people.

The bills cleared both the House of Representatives and the Senate just five weeks after the ISIS-inspired massacre at the iconic Sydney beach, the country’s deadliest mass shooting in three decades and the worst antisemitic attack outside Israel in recent years.

The attack was carried out by Sajid Akram and his son, Naveed, who opened fire on Jewish attendees of a Chanukah event using high-powered rifles. Sajid was killed by police at the scene, while Naveed survived after being shot and is now in custody.

The violence triggered a national reckoning over antisemitism, exposed deep failures in protecting Australia’s Jewish community, and accelerated bipartisan demands for tougher laws to confront both hate and access to weapons.

“The terrorists had hate in their hearts, but they also had high-powered rifles in their hands,” Prime Minister Anthony Albanese told lawmakers during a special parliamentary session convened ahead of Thursday’s national day of mourning. “We’re taking action on both — tackling antisemitism, tackling hate, and getting dangerous guns off our streets.”

The legislation was split into two packages, each passed separately but framed by the government as inseparable responses to the massacre.

The hate-crime reforms significantly stiffen penalties for incitement, radicalization, and the promotion of violence, with particular emphasis on those in positions of influence. The laws create new aggravated offenses for preachers, community leaders, and adults who seek to radicalize minors, reflecting concern that extremist ideology has been spreading through informal networks and online platforms.

The measures also expand the government’s authority to deny or revoke visas for individuals suspected of terrorism or of promoting hatred based on race, ethnicity, or national origin, a move officials said was designed to close loopholes exposed by the Bondi attack.

On firearms, lawmakers approved the creation of a national gun buyback scheme, tighter controls on gun imports, and expanded background checks for firearms licenses. Under the new rules, intelligence agencies will be permitted to provide input into permit decisions — a change Albanese said was necessary to prevent warning signs from being missed.

The votes came as Albanese pledged to establish a royal commission — the most powerful form of inquiry under Australian law — to investigate both the Bondi massacre and the broader rise of antisemitism across the country. The commission, to be led by former High Court justice Virginia Bell, will have the authority to compel testimony and demand documents. Its final report is due on December 14, exactly one year after the attack.

Many within Australia’s roughly 120,000-strong Jewish community say the new measures come only after years of neglect and repeated warnings that went unheeded.

Jewish leaders have long accused Albanese of failing to adequately confront antisemitism following Hamas’s October 7, 2023 attack on Israel, arguing that his critical posture toward Israel emboldened pro-Palestinian activists who went on to target Jewish institutions at home. Expressions of solidarity from the government after antisemitic incidents over the past two years were often met with skepticism, as attacks continued to escalate.

(YWN World Headquarters – NYC)