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| Burke: We will now draft instructions regarding the legislative changes. Some of these instructions will be issued tomorrow, while others will be issued immediately after Christmas. |
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SUBJECTS: Bondi Terror Attack; Parliamentary Expenses.
23/12/2025
(See translation in Arabic section)
Sydney-Middle East Times Int'l: ANTHONY ALBANESE, PRIME MINISTER: A little over a week ago, Australia suffered the deadliest terrorist attack ever committed on our soil. It was an antisemitic attack on our Jewish community, but an attack on Australian values and on Australian society. Which is why for many of us, Christmas this year will feel a bit different. What is normally a time of celebration and family and faith will this year be coloured by grief and sadness. But in the weeks since the attack, we've also seen the best of the Australian character and the best of Australian spirit. We saw courage on that dreadful evening. We've seen kindness, we've seen compassion and we've seen Australians wanting to come together in the spirit of unity across faiths, across different backgrounds as well. I hope Australians can really take heart from that as they spend time with their loved ones over coming days. I've just come from another meeting of the National Security Committee, the tenth meeting that we've had since last Sunday's attack. At all of these meetings we receive updates from the Australian Federal Police Commissioner, from the heads of our security agencies, ASIO and ASIS, as well as from departments as well. Today, also, we received updates from Minister Rowland and Minister Burke about the work that's progressing on law reform, including the discussion with the States about progressing gun reform. The terrible events at Bondi show that we do need more guns off our streets. The fact there are more guns in Australia today than there were at the time of the Port Arthur massacre is of real concern to Australians, it needs to change. One of the terrorists, of course, held a firearm licence and had six guns. There is no reason why someone living in Bonnyrigg needs six heavy arms, which is what we saw to commit this crime. Minister Burke also updated the Committee as well with Minister Rowland about the work that's commenced on cracking down on hate speech. My government is determined to address these issues with unity and urgency, not with division and delay. We're continuing to get on with the work that is necessary and I thank the officials, the agencies, including the AFP, ASIO, ASIS, others who are all working around the clock since that dreadful Sunday evening, around the clock to do as Chanukah promises us to ensure that light succeeds over darkness.
Tony Burke MP TONY BURKE, MINISTER FOR HOME AFFAIRS: Thanks, Prime Minister. The nation in response to the horrors of the attack at Bondi has been a nation filled with grief, with anger and with a determination to make every change that is required to be able to deal with the horrific attack. In dealing with that we need to look at both the motivation and the method. The motivation deeply immersed in antisemitism and the method, a horrific example of gun violence. Yesterday, the Senior Officials Group, which has been established federally dealing with Home Affairs and Attorney-Generals and across various police and justice portfolios and Premier's departments of the States and Territories, met for the first time. They're now commencing work on implementing the decisions which had been made at National Cabinet. That work is consultative and ongoing. We'll now be drafting instructions for the Commonwealth components of legislative changes. Some of those drafting instructions will be issued tomorrow. Others will be immediately after Christmas. The Commonwealth firearms reform package includes the gun buyback scheme, intelligence sharing, import controls for firearms related goods, new offences relating to 3D printed firearms and consideration of removing merits review at different parts of the application process. The Hate Crimes Database and the National Firearms Register are both being accelerated to be able to provide the best possible information both to the public generally and to the authorities that issue gun licences. That deals with the method of guns. In terms of the motivation, consultation is occurring in earnest with the leadership of the Jewish community of Australia. Hate speech is horrific, hate speech is debilitating and hate speech is the precursor to hate violence. The work that's being done in that consultation with the leadership of the Jewish community will feed directly into the drafting which will take place. But people should be in no doubt about where the target is as this drafting is done. We want to make sure that those hate preachers who have managed to keep themselves just on the legal side of Australian law, that the threshold is lowered so that those statements that we have seen that every reasonable Australian has viewed as horrific and as having no place in Australia will become criminal. Similarly for organisations which for a generation, organisations like Hizb ut-Tahrir and the neo Nazis, for a generation have managed to keep themselves just on the legal side of Australian law, but never on the side of the Australian community. Organisations which by definition hate modern Australia, that the thresholds will be lowered to allow them to be listed organisations under a new regime, so that even if you don't satisfy the definition of terrorism, you can still be listed as an organisation which is not able to operate in Australia.
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