Anthony Albanese says attack like the one at Bondi "can’t happen again" as ACT joins gun buyback

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said the Australian Capital Territory will join a federal gun buyback created in response to a shooting at a Sydney Jewish gathering. The attack at a Bondi Beach Hanukkah celebration on December 14 killed 15 people; police have accused a father and son allegedly inspired by the Islamic State group. Laws passed in January under Albanese’s government established the buyback, stricter firearm licensing, and new hate-crime measures. New South Wales had already signed on, and the ACT has now agreed. Albanese described the buyback as part of preventing violent antisemitic incidents like the one at Bondi. The ACT has roughly 23,000 firearms and more than 7,000 licence holders. The buyback is set to be Australia's largest since a similar campaign after a 1996 mass shooting at Port Arthur.