Australians will be forced “to surrender freedoms and property” under the Albanese Government’s proposed anti-terror, hate speech and firearm laws, “while the ideology that drove the [Bondi] attack isn’t even named” in the legislation.
The comments were made by Victorian Shooters, Farmers and Fishers Party MP Jeff Bourman in a joint statement issued by the Victorian, NSW and Tasmanian branches of the party.
“That’s political cowardice, not leadership,” he said.
The SFF’s state politicians universally condemned the federal government’s Combatting Antisemitism, Hate and Extremism Bill 2026, saying, “it uses the horror of the Bondi attack to justify sweeping new powers over firearms, speech and personal freedoms — while failing to honestly confront the ideology behind the violence.”
Prime Minister Albanese has recalled the national parliament to debate its new laws on Monday and Tuesday, 19-20 January, but faces heated opposition over what many regard as dangerous overreach on many levels of the omnibus bill.
The SFF is part of a chorus of voices expressing shock at what the government is proposing regarding new laws on hate-speech, extremism and firearms.
“The bill inserts Canberra into areas traditionally managed by the states, including firearm vetting, import controls and compulsory buybacks,” the SFF statement said.
“It introduces vague ‘public safety tests’, expanded bans on firearm parts and magazines, and lays the groundwork for future restrictions through regulation rather than parliamentary scrutiny.
“The lack of clear definitions and the reliance on regulations means today’s promises will not bind future governments.
“The bill also creates new federal offences around speech, symbols and association, yet fails to clearly define what constitutes ‘hate’, leaving broad discretion in the hands of police, prosecutors and future ministers.”
The SFF said other aspects of the bill would entrench “belief-based policing, rather than a focus on criminal conduct”.
“There is not a single clause in this bill that explains how taking firearms from farmers, sporting shooters or licensed gun owners would have stopped the Bondi attack,” Tasmanian SFF MLA Carlo Di Falco said.
“This is terrorism legislation in name only. What this is really about, is a federal power grab that punishes people who have done nothing wrong.”
NSW upper house MLCs Robert Borsak and Mark Banasiak were equally critical after having already voted against the Minns Government’s comparable laws before Christmas.
As they wanted to see happen in NSW, they want the firearms provisions removed and counter-terrorism legislation to be “narrowly targeted, evidence-based and honest”.
“This bill doesn’t fix a failure, it exploits a tragedy to centralise control,” Mr Borsak said.
Mr Banasiak said the fact that the hate-speech laws don’t even define the word ‘hate’ “should be a concern to every Australian” because it indicates the government wants “flexible, not clarity” in how the law will be applied.
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