While Prime Minister Anthony Albanese was seeking bipartisan support for the introduction of tougher gun laws across Australia, all within hours of the Bondi Beach terror attack, other politicians were standing up to show support for law-abiding firearms owners.
The Shooters, Fishers and Farmers Party, Pauline Hanson and Bridget McKenzie have all made public comments that back legal gun owners.
The Shooters, Fishers and Farmers Party’s NSW, Victorian, Tasmanian and WA branches released a joint statement condemning “symbolic lawmaking designed to look tough while avoiding hard questions”.
Ms Hanson, a federal senator from One Nation, blamed the state and federal governments for failing to prevent the attack.
“One Nation will not support changes to the already stringent guns laws in Australia,” she said. “Instead, let’s deal with the real debate on radical Islam that is proving more deadly than anything else in this country.”
Ms McKenzie, a leader in the federal senate of the National Party, expressed similar sentiments.
“Let’s call it for what it is,” she said. “It’s not the gun, it’s the the Islamic terrorism.”
SFF MPs and Ms Hanson all pointed to the failure of authorities to act when at least one of the terrorists had already been investigated for his radicalism, and was living with the other terrorist — his father — who was a licensed gun owner. Authorities had the power to remove the firearms.
“This attack was driven by extremist ideology, not by firearms licensing,” Victorian SFF MLC Jeff Bourman said. “When radicalisation emerges, authorities must intervene early. Ignoring warning signs and blaming the law after the fact is not public safety.”
“This was not a gap in Australia’s firearms laws,” his NSW counterpart, Robert Borsak, said. “The powers already exist. The failure was that they were not used.”
With fears that WA-style guns laws, including ownership limits, might be introduced across the country, NSW SFF MLC Mark Banasiak pointed out the futility of such restrictions.
“Western Australia-style laws punish compliance without addressing violent extremism,” he said. “They may look tough, but they won’t prevent attacks.”
Tasmanian SFF MLA Carlo Di Falco added: “Lawful firearm owners should not be scapegoated to cover government failure. Punishing people who followed the law does nothing to improve public safety.”
“This horrendous event was not perpetrated by Australian farmers or any other legitimate firearm user,” Ms Hanson said. “It was perpetrated by radical Islamic fundamentalists with alleged connections to ISIS.
“Let’s not forget that the police have found three improvised explosive devices in the vehicle driven by these terrorists. Guns or no guns, they were out to kill with whatever means possible.
“Farmers and lawful firearm owners will not accept responsibility for the Albanese and Minns governments, who continue to avoid the real issue in preference for prosecuting law-abiding citizens.”
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