Key events
Kellie Sloane supports call for federal royal commission into Bondi attack
Asked about the Put Australia First rally, which went ahead in Sydney on the weekend despite pleas from authorities to cancel, Sloane said there were “important public safety reasons” for shutting down public assemblies.
She added that if the laws to be debated today were already in place, it would not have been able to go ahead.
We need our police around Bondi and Sydney’s east at the moment. People, again, should feel free to express their opinions – they can do it in an ongoing fashion after that terrorist designation.
Sloane also threw her weight behind calls for a federal royal commission, not just a state inquiry as promised by premier Chris Minns.
I would like to see a royal commission. I’d like to see that led by the Commonwealth. New South Wales can’t go it alone in this. Terrorism doesn’t know borders. So, yes, I support a royal commission.
We need understand exactly what happened – not just on the day, not just in the weeks and months leading up to it, but the broader build-up – what has contributed. Australia needs answers on what was the root cause of this terrible attack and what we can do to ensure that we never see this on our beaches, on our cities and our soil again.
Sloane said the Coalition had been pushing for stronger protest laws since the start of the year.
Last Friday, I wrote to the Premier saying: ‘Premier, now is the time to reconsider the opposition’s proposals’. He has taken some of our ideas and included that in the laws that we will be debating in parliament today.
We want to see a proportionate response – one that is measured, one that balances the rights and freedoms of protest, which is a fundamental pillar of democracy in this country, and a way for people to let off steam – that is important. We want to see that continue. But equally, we need to give police the tools that they need to clamp down on protests if that is in the public interest, if it is a present danger to the community, or impacts on social cohesion.
Sloane said the core of the issue, “putting aside gun laws”, was rising levels of anti-Semitism.
So, even beyond these laws today, we have a lot of work to do. This is going to be a long process. And we’re all committed to do a better outcome.
Among the proposals is giving police greater powers to remove face coverings, which Sloane said the Coalition supported and had included in their legislation earlier this year.
There would be carve-outs for people with religious face coverings – that’s very important. But if you turn up to a protest and you are spewing hate and you are hiding your identity, the police need to be to say, ‘that’s not ok’. You can turn up to a protest, you can show your face – but if you are spewing hate and your face is covered, that is not ok. And improving the laws to stop that will be supported by, certainly, the Liberals.
NSW Liberals to discuss proposed firearms and protest bills today
The NSW opposition leader, Kellie Sloane, has told ABC News Breakfast that she will meet with the Liberal party room this morning to discuss the proposed firearms, protest, and hate speech laws being introduced to state parliament today.
We received this legislation on Saturday. It’s an omnibus bill – that means it includes a whole lot of stuff – protest laws, which we feel are incredibly important, and also the gun reforms that are being proposed.
It’s been a rushed piece of legislation when it comes to the gun reforms. There’s been zero consultation, or very little consultation with stakeholders. Certainly not with the opposition. So we’ve been working through that detail over the last 24 hours, and we’ll be making a statement later this morning.
But we are here in extraordinary circumstances. It is important to address, particularly, the issues around protest laws – and I said last week that I will work in a bipartisan fashion with the government to get this done. These are extraordinary circumstances, and it requires a lot of cooperation to get it through.
Residents of Davao City in the Philippines, which has become the centre of the investigation into the Bondi terror attack after it was revealed that shooters Sajid Akram and his son Naveed travelled there last month.
Reporter Carmela Fonbuena has been speaking to the city’s predominantly Catholic residents, who are preparing for Christmas.
She writes:
The Philippine government has pushed back against claims that it was a terrorist training ground for the accused Bondi shooters. The country has a long history of unrest and marginalisation that has seen some Muslim separatist groups forge ties with international jihadist groups. But while IS-linked groups remain present, security officials say they are small and weakened.
What is clear, said Eduardo Año, the Philippines’ national security adviser, is the two never left the city nor received military-style training in the country, as was earlier claimed.
You can read her full piece here.
Gun control can provide ‘ray of hope’ in wake of tragedy, reform advocate says
One of Australia’s leading experts on gun control, Roland Browne, has told ABC News Breakfast that in the wake of a tragedy the community looks for hope, and taking swift action on gun control can provide that hope.
In my involvement in gun law reform in over 40 years, after these terrible events – and I’m talking about what happened at Bondi, what happened at Port Arthur and indeed from my own experience what happened in Dunblane in Scotland in 1996 – people looked to political leadership for a ray of hope, and gun law reform is what they look for.
It gives people a sense that there is light at the end of the tunnel and that is the best thing for the grief and anguish and loss that people experience. So it’s very important that these reforms move rapidly and all the states and territories and political parties get behind them.
He said that the 1996 reforms post the Port Arthur massacre were a landmark, but that the laws could not be set and forget. He added that gun control was “only as good as the weakest link in the chain” so any changes should be nationalised.
Those states that aren’t recalling their parliaments now need to do so in February and get a move on and get these laws introduced.
National Farmers Federation urges ‘proper consultation’ over gun reform
The National Farmers Federation has called for the rush to introduce gun reforms to be slowed, saying there has been “limited engagement with the farm sector, despite acknowledgment that agriculture requires firearms”.
The National Farmers’ Federation president, Hamish McIntyre, said:
We support sensible reforms that strengthen community safety, but those reforms must be developed carefully and with proper consultation to ensure they don’t undermine farm safety, animal welfare and environmental management.
McIntyre said the Bondi terror attacks were a tragedy that demanded a “serious response, and we understand the need for governments to act decisively to ensure something like this never happens again”.
In milder terms than the state peak farming body, he said that any changes introduced in NSW would “set the tone nationally”.
He added:
We will continue to advocate respectfully, responsibly and firmly for farmers, while recognising the gravity of this moment for our nation.
Proposed firearms laws ‘rushed’ and ‘unworkable’, say NSW Farmers
NSW Farmers says Chris Minns’ “rushed” new gun laws were “unworkable” and that farmers had been “misled” by the state government.
The association’s president, Xavier Martin, says the state government had not spoken to the organisation despite “multiple attempts” over the past week, and he was “deeply frustrated that the government has failed to engage in any meaningful way in what is a critical issue for farmers”.
Martin said:
Farmers have been misled by the NSW Government. It’s incredible this government has allowed generous capping exemptions for recreational shooters but for farmers who need firearms to control pests, minimise biosecurity risks and for the humane management of animals, the government hasn’t given us a second’s thought.
The Premier acknowledged farmers and agriculture had unique requirements when it came to firearms but these reforms have been put together in such a rush, the government hasn’t even turned its attention to the unintended consequences and anomalies.
Firearms laws are complex and multifaceted, and it is deeply disappointing that despite our repeated offers to provide practical input and consultation the government has not chosen to talk to us.
Martin said the cap of 10 firearms for primary producers will affect those whose businesses are spread across multiple properties, as it may require them to transport guns between properties, and said reducing the licence renewal period from five years to two was “red tape for law abiding farmers”.
NSW Farmers does not support unworkable rules on firearms for farmers and those working in agriculture, and we will continue to make representations on behalf of our sector.
Coalition’s proposed antisemitism royal commission would include ‘attitudes towards Israel’
The federal Coalition has this morning released its own terms of reference for a federal royal commission to investigate antisemitism in the lead up to the Bondi terror attack.
As AAP reports, the proposal includes scope to probe attitudes to Israel as well as the roles of commonwealth and state governments and agencies, the media, education and cultural sectors, in relation to antisemitism and their potential contributions to the terror attack.
Its proposed terms of reference include “the nature, prevalence and drivers of antisemitism in Australia leading up to the Bondi Beach attack … including antisemitism based on race, religion and attitudes towards, or conduct relating to, the state of Israel”.
Pro-Palestine activists have frequently sought to separate their criticism of Israel for its offensive in Gaza since 2023 from any antisemitic activity that targeting Jews.
The opposition leader, Sussan Ley, said the Anthony Albanese’s response to the horrors of Bondi had been proposals that were “too little, too late and will take far too long”.
“If the prime minister does not confront the causes of the Bondi massacre with honesty and resolve, the victims of this terrorist attack and their families will be denied the justice they deserve,” she said.
“Bondi is what happens when hate is tolerated and warnings are ignored.”
Welcome
Good morning and welcome to our live news coverage for Monday 21 December.
Thousands gathered at Bondi beach in Sydney last night to hold a minute’s silence for the 15 people killed in last week’s terror attack. The first speaker at the event, the president of the NSW Board of Jewish Deputies, David Ossip, told the crowd of as many as 15,000 people that it “cannot be disputed” that a federal royal commission was needed. Prime minister Anthony Albanese on Saturday backed plans by the NSW Premier, Chris Minns, to hold a state-based royal commission to provide a “comprehensive look” into the shooting.
Minns was met with loud cheers at the event, as was the state opposition leader, Kellie Sloane, and federal opposition leader, Sussan Ley, while Albanese – who did not speak at the event – was booed.
The loudest and longest cheer came when Ossip acknowledged the “unbelievable bravery” of Ahmed al-Ahmed, who disarmed one of the gunmen and is still in hospital receiving treatment for multiple gunshot wounds. Ahmed’s father lit the first candle of the menorah, which was lit to mark the eighth day of Hanukah.
Meanwhile, the NSW parliament has been reconvened for two days for the introduction of tough new laws on gun ownership and cracking down on “hate speech”. The proposed laws include capping at four the number of firearms most recreational shooters can hold, giving the state “extraordinary powers” to ban protests for up to three months following the declaration of a terror incident, and banning the phrase “globalise the intifada”.
As Luca Ittimani explains, intifada means uprising or resistance, and is the term used by Palestinians to describe uprising against Israel.
Luca writes:
For Palestinians and their supporters it can mean resistance against oppression, but many Jewish groups and leaders see it as a call to violence against people of their faith.
Two Jewish groups in NSW which are vocal supporters of the Palestinian movement have spoken out against the proposed crackdown on protests, saying long-running pro-Palestine rallies had “nothing to do with the attacks”.
We’ll bring you more details on that proposed legislation as the day unfolds.
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