20 things we now know about Bondi and why licensed shooters were blamed for failures inside the intelligence and policing system.
From day one, the Shooters, Fishers and Farmers Party — my party — has said the same thing: The powers already existed.
The Bondi terrorist attack was not the fault of ordinary licensed shooters.
Now the Royal Commission, intelligence reviews and media investigations are increasingly pointing somewhere else entirely, toward intelligence failures, information-sharing failures and systemic coordination failures.
Meanwhile, licensed shooters, dealers, clubs and businesses were politically punished and many are on their knees as a result.
And despite everything now emerging, not one senior intelligence official, police executive or government decision-maker has been stood down.
Instead, the agencies now under scrutiny are reportedly blaming each other.
Here are 20 things we now know:
1. NO AGENCY SAID EXISTING LAWS PREVENTED ACTION
The Royal Commission reportedly heard no agency identify a legal barrier that prevented authorities from acting before Bondi.
2. NO AGENCY CALLED FOR URGENT NEW FIREARMS LAWS
The Commission reportedly heard there were no legal or regulatory gaps that stopped authorities from preventing or responding to the Bondi terror attack.
3. EVEN THE NSW PREMIER CALLED IT A ‘GIANT INTELLIGENCE FAILURE’ ON RADIO
NSW Premier Chris Minns acknowledged the scale of the intelligence breakdown now under examination.
4. THE COMMISSION IS NOW EXAMINING COUNTER-TERROR FAILURES
One key recommendation involves reviewing Joint Counter Terrorism Teams, including leadership, coordination and information sharing.
https://asc.royalcommission.gov.au/publications/interim-report
5. ASIO’S REVIEW REPORTEDLY DID NOT GO BACK FAR ENOUGH
Reports indicate ASIO’s internal review may not have fully reassessed older intelligence concerns.
6. THE SYSTEM ALREADY KNEW OLD SUBJECTS COULD RE-EMERGE
Australia’s own counter-terror framework reportedly warned dormant extremist subjects can later reactivate.
7. PRIOR WARNINGS WERE REPORTEDLY MADE YEARS BEFORE BONDI
Media investigations report hotline warnings and intelligence concerns may have been raised years earlier.
8. ASIO AND POLICE ARE REPORTEDLY SHIFTING BLAME
Recent reporting from the Royal Commission suggests growing tension between agencies over who knew what and whether intelligence was properly shared.
9. THE LICENSING SYSTEM REPORTEDLY FAILED TO CONNECT KNOWN INTELLIGENCE CONCERNS
A major unanswered question is how a firearms licence was granted despite historical intelligence concerns allegedly existing within the broader system.
10. EXISTING LICENCE REVOCATION POWERS ALREADY EXISTED
NSW Police already had powers to suspend or revoke firearms licences where public safety concerns existed.
11. THE PRIME MINISTER ORDERED A REVIEW INTO INTELLIGENCE STRUCTURES
The federal response focused on intelligence structures and law enforcement coordination.
12. THE FIREARMS REGISTRY HAD NO DEDICATED INTELLIGENCE ANALYST
The NSW Firearms Registry had no dedicated senior intelligence analyst embedded in the Registry from November 2021 to February 2025.
https://www.australianjewishnews.com/hearing-block-two-day-three/
13. COMMUNITY GROUPS REPORTEDLY REQUESTED STRONGER SECURITY
Evidence before the Commission reportedly shows requests were made for stronger police presence before the attack.
14. ASIO REPORTEDLY SHIFTED FOCUS AWAY FROM COUNTER-TERRORISM
Reports indicate intelligence resources had increasingly shifted toward espionage and foreign interference priorities before Bondi.
That raises serious questions about operational priorities and threat assessment.
https://apnews.com/article/b5851bbd22416f231fba2b5c63d4bbb5
15. NATIONAL SECURITY TENSIONS WERE ALREADY PUBLIC BEFORE BONDI
Even before Bondi, public reporting highlighted growing tensions, bureaucratic fragmentation and structural disputes inside Australia’s intelligence and national security system.
The warnings about coordination problems were already there.
16. THE POLICE COMMANDER DID NOT FULLY READ THE WARNING
The Royal Commission heard the NSW Police commander responsible for the Hanukkah by the Sea event did not fully read a security warning email before Bondi.
17. THE PEOPLE DEMANDING NEW POWERS ALREADY HAD POWERS
The powers existed. The systems existed. The frameworks existed. The failure appears to have been acting on intelligence already available.
18. THE POLITICAL RESPONSE TARGETED LICENSED SHOOTERS FIRST
Before investigations were complete, ordinary shooters became the political target.
19. AFP AND ASIO’s INTERNAL REVIEW DEFLECTED BLAME FROM THE OUTSET
They found there was no intelligence failure or negligence that allowed the Bondi attack to happen.
20. THE ORIGINAL SFF POSITION IS NOW BEING VINDICATED
From day one, the Shooters Fishers and Farmers Party argued this was not the fault of law-abiding firearms owners.
Licensed shooters did not fail Australia. Firearms dealers did not fail Australia. Sporting shooters did not fail Australia.
The failures now being exposed are failures of intelligence handling, coordination, prioritisation and accountability.
And instead of confronting those failures honestly, governments chose the easier political target first: The people who obey the law.
These new gun laws need to be repealed.
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