The interim report of the Royal Commission into Antisemitism and Social Cohesion has been released, and buried among its 14 recommendations are two that should worry every responsible firearms owner in Australia: a call for a new national firearms agreement and a national gun buyback scheme.
This follows the horrific terrorist attack at Bondi Beach on 14 December 2025, where two attackers murdered 15 people. The tragedy was real and appalling. But using the crimes of terrorists, who already broke multiple existing laws,to justify disarming peaceful, licensed citizens is a familiar and dangerous pattern.
Recommendations 13 and 14 urge the Commonwealth, states, and territories to "prioritise":
A new, nationally consistent National Firearms Agreement, and
A national gun buyback scheme with shared federal and state funding.
This builds on earlier post-Bondi pushes for tighter rules, including limits on the number of firearms per owner, periodic licence reviews, and faster development of a national firearms register. The Albanese government has accepted all relevant recommendations and is now pressing the states to fall into line.
Some states are pushing back. Queensland has already rejected the buyback, arguing it won't keep guns out of the hands of criminals and terrorists. Other jurisdictions are lukewarm. But history shows that federal pressure, combined with compliant states like Victoria and New South Wales, often leads to incremental tightening across the country.
The attackers at Bondi used firearms and attempted homemade bombs. They were not licensed sporting shooters or farmers obeying the law. Terrorists, by definition, do not follow licensing regimes, safe storage rules, or voluntary buyback offers. The worst mass violence in Australia has usually involved illegal weapons or people who should never have had access in the first place.
Yet once again, the political response is the same old reflex: make it harder for the law-abiding majority. This is not serious counter-terrorism. It is using public emotion after a tragedy to advance long-held centralising agendas.
South Australia and other more rural or conservative states may soon come under heavy pressure to comply, even before the final Royal Commission report in December 2026. Governments rarely let a good crisis go to waste, and the machinery for tighter national controls is already being oiled.
What Responsible Owners Should Do Now
If you are a licensed shooter, farmer, or collector:
Review your current compliance thoroughly. Make sure paperwork, safe storage, and transport rules are all in perfect order.
Consider legitimate acquisitions sooner rather than later. If you've been thinking about adding to your collection for sporting, pest control, or occupational use, the window may be closing.
Stay organised. Support shooting organisations that push back against overreach and keep good records.
Speak up. Contact your state MP and senators. Remind them that criminals and terrorists ignore laws, only the innocent are affected by new ones.
The Bondi attack was carried out by people who rejected Australian values and the rule of law. Disarming the people who do uphold those things will not make Australia safer. It will simply leave decent citizens more vulnerable in an increasingly uncertain world.
This is not about nostalgia. It is about a basic principle: the right of responsible adults to defend their families, properties, and livelihoods should not be sacrificed on the altar of bureaucratic optics and political expediency.
Watch your state closely in the coming months. In places like South Australia, things could move faster than many expect. Prepare accordingly.
Here is a detailed legal argument and strategy that will be relevant:
https://blog.alor.org/a-constitutional-challenge-to-the-new-gun-laws-by-ian-wilson-ll-b