Larissa Waters (Queensland, Australian Greens) Share this | Hansard source

In 1996, in the wake of the Port Arthur tragedy, state and federal governments came together to take decisive action on gun laws in Australia. They united to remove semiautomatic and pump-action shotguns and rifles from our community. In total, more than 700,000 guns were surrendered and destroyed. It is devastating that we are here needing to pass these laws because of another mass shooting, this time at Bondi, but the loss of 15 innocent lives demands action.

There are now more guns in our community than there were in the aftermath of the Port Arthur massacre—almost double the number recorded in 2001—and at least 2,000 new firearms are lawfully entering the community every week. The Bondi tragedy was made possible by gun laws that are no longer fit for purpose. The Greens welcome today's long-overdue gun law reforms. The Greens have consistently called for limits on the number of guns in our suburbs and clearer restrictions on the most dangerous weapons.

We welcome the Combatting Antisemitism, Hate and Extremism (Firearms and Customs Laws) Bill 2026, and we welcome the fact it was separated from the government's proposed changes to the Migration Act and new powers for the home affairs minister—which the Greens remain opposed to, in solidarity with the community. In its original form, the hate speech bill drew criticism from legal experts, faith groups, academics and the wider community. The vast potential for unintended consequences, the unanswered questions about the impact on political freedoms and the exclusion of many groups from its protections made the bill impossible to pass, or to reform with amendments, in the extremely tight timeframe enforced upon it by the government.

After close consultation with gun safety advocates, the Greens confirmed we would back the important gun safety reforms. But we could not support the other parts of the bill, which scapegoat migrants and create wide-ranging, divisive, one-sided laws. We were originally willing to see if the laws could be amended and fixed, but, with every passing moment, fresh concerns were raised by academics, faith leaders and experts about the vast consequences of rushed hate speech laws. We now see that the hate speech laws have been made even worse, with a last-minute deal stitched up between the government and the opposition. The original bill was rushed and lacked time for legal experts and stakeholders to review it. These changes in the last 48 hours are even more hasty, more dangerous and even less scrutinised. The government has chosen to join the coalition's race to the bottom. Far from narrowing these laws, the amendments that Labor have agreed to in this dirty deal with the coalition expand the reach of an already unreasonable crackdown on free speech. There are real questions about the constitutionality of this expansion.

These expanded laws will also allow the government of the day to capture conduct retrospectively—a terrifying overreach. A process that was looking rushed last week, with only days to consider the bill, is now looking downright dangerous, with the parliament legislating a bill that is still warm from the photocopier. Giving the home affairs minister power to ignore procedural fairness and ban or criminalise organisations is a blank-cheque power grab. These are Trumpian powers that remove the usual checks for good decision-making. These changes are bad, and the Greens stand with the community to oppose them.

Hate and hate groups raise very real problems, but there are existing powers to ban Neo-Nazis and other groups that promote or incite violence. We have repeatedly asked why those powers have not already been used against Neo-Nazis, and we have not had adequate answers. Allowing the government to proscribe organisations is a serious step and needs to come with safeguards and protections, including procedural fairness. Currently, the minister can refuse or cancel someone's visa if their presence poses a risk or they would generally represent a danger to the Australian community or a segment of the community. The bill would change the threshold for the ability of the minister to cancel a visa from the existing threshold of 'would pose a risk' to 'might pose a risk'. This broadens immigration's powers to impact almost anyone, dramatically increasing the minister's powers within an already opaque system.

The legacy of the appalling violence at Bondi cannot be the undermining of civil and political rights. All laws that can be used to weaponise racism and hate against everyday Australians who follow their conscience and speak out when they see wrong carried out here in Australia or overseas. We need to ensure that these laws cannot be weaponised to shut down legitimate political protest. Criticism of Israel's actions, just like those of Russia, China, or Australia, should not be criminalised.

The firearms bill that we have before us at the moment is an opportunity to take dangerous weapons off our streets. It is critical that it's not bound up with rushed legislation that would divide people by religion, prevent them from critiquing governments and their human rights abuses, including Israel's genocide in Gaza, or allow the home affairs minister to ignore procedural fairness in banning or criminalising organisations.

We consider the national gun buyback and information sharing amongst national, state and territory law enforcement and security agencies the bare minimum of what's required to ensure that we never see a tragedy of this magnitude in Australia again. Many gun laws are state based, leaving us with inconsistent implementation of rules across the country. What we need now, as we saw after Port Arthur, is a national commitment to change. A patchwork of laws just creates opportunities for people to shop around for the weakest of jurisdictions. A patchwork of laws makes police monitoring of gun ownership and licensing more difficult.

Information about a person's criminal history and any previous screening that made them ineligible to own a gun in one state is not necessarily shared with other states when they move. A history of domestic violence, an affiliation with hate groups, animal cruelty—none of that will necessarily prevent them from getting access to firearms in other jurisdictions. The changes proposed in this bill allow AusCheck to manage a background checking scheme for gun licensing and improve data sharing with ASIO and the Australian Crime Commission. That is a welcome move towards better transparency and more robust decisions. Regular reviews of eligibility should be conducted to ensure that risks can be reassessed as circumstances change.

Restrictions on the types of guns that can be imported have not kept pace with changes in technology. We welcome the public safety test for imported firearms and the proposed restrictions on fast-loading weapons and accessories that enable mass killings. It's difficult to conceive of any justification for such weapons. Terrifyingly, there's also been a rise in 3D printed weapons—homemade guns that often escape safety regulations and, without registration, escape notice. Two high-powered 3D-printed guns were seized by police in a raid in Tasmania just last weekend. New offences in this bill targeting materials for the home manufacture and modification of weapons will go some way towards addressing this.

One key reform from Port Arthur—which still hasn't been actioned—is a national firearms register. The Greens and, in particular, my colleague Senator Shoebridge have been vocal about the failure to deliver this register for many years. Work on creating the national register was largely dormant following Port Arthur until renewed calls followed the fatal shootings in Wieambilla in 2022. Again, action was prompted by tragedy rather than getting ahead of it.

In the absence of a national register, Senator Shoebridge established the toomanyguns.org website as a tool to see how many weapons are in a local area, revealing the sheer scale of gun ownership in our suburbs, but because of the limited transparency nationally, there's currently only comprehensive data available for NSW. Australians should have the right to know how many guns are being held by people in every state and territory. The Greens welcome the government's new commitment to fast-track implementation of the national register and have it operating this year. We will continue to call for the register to include public access and regular reporting.

Despite its urban location, Bondi has 190 guns in the 2026 postcode, with one gun owner possessing a shocking 24 registered weapons. In Matraville, one firearm owner has 295 registered guns. No sensible firearms laws would allow massive private arsenals to be amassed like this. This is a serious weakness in Australia's firearm laws that is being exploited and putting the public at risk. Nobody needs 295 guns.

The Greens accept that there are people in the community who have a genuine reason to own a gun. Farmers on rural properties often require firearms for euthanising injured stock and additional, different firearms for controlling invasive animals. Target shooting at a registered gun club is also a long-recognised and legitimate sport. Members of a shooting club, Olympic and other competitive shooters, and farmers may reasonably be able to establish the need for a number of guns to address their different needs. Those legitimate needs should be reflected in any firearms reforms. That has long been the Greens's stance. But there is simply no reason to have dozens or even hundreds of guns.

The Greens will work across state and territory parliaments to ensure that communities are safe from gun violence, with fewer dangerous weapons, limits on gun numbers, robust background screening, implementation of the buyback scheme and comprehensive data sharing. It is reprehensible that Liberal governments in Queensland, Tasmania and the NT are refusing to contribute to the cost of a national gun buyback. We need a uniform, national buyback scheme, and people in those states deserve the protection of a national buyback. Federal Labor should commit to paying the full cost of that so that we can have a national approach. Let's not let politicking get in the way of doing a good thing to keep people safe.

The Greens are pleased that the federal government has, under pressure from the Greens and gun safety advocates, decided to take the advice to establish a firearms safety council. This council will provide independent advice on the status of gun regulation across Australia, develop national best practice standards informed by expert advice and promote transparency, integrity, harm prevention and public education. We thank the government for agreeing to do that extra good thing.

Even before Bondi, the community had been calling for action on gun control. Polling by the Australia Institute showed that around 70 per cent of Australians think gun laws should be strengthened to make it harder to get a gun. The tragedy of Bondi means we must not ignore those calls any longer. This moment is beyond politics. Our resolve to act is a test for our common humanity, and I hope that all of parliament will join together to ensure that no-one can walk the streets of Sydney or any Australian city with a high-powered gun. I'm proud, on behalf of the Greens, to support these gun law reforms today.