SYDNEY
\nThe number of firearms in Australia reached an all-time high of more than 4 million in 2025, the center-left government reported \u200bon Sunday, a day after saying it would introduce a gun reform bill in parliament in response to the Bondi massacre.
\nThere were a record 4,113,735 guns in Australia last year, with 1,158,654 of those in the most populous state of New South Wales where \u200cthe Bondi attack \u200ctook place, the government \u200csaid, citing Department \u200bof \u200cHome Affairs data.
\nThe Labor government on Saturday said parliament, recalled from its summer break, would debate bills this week to authorize a gun buyback and lower the bar for hate speech prosecutions \u2014 measures drafted in the wake of the December 14 shooting that killed 15 at a Hanukkah celebration.
\nHome Affairs \u200cMinister Tony Burke said there \u200dwere now more guns \u200din Australia than at the time of \u200da 1996 shooting that killed 35 and prompted a gun buyback scheme by the conservative government of former Prime Minister John Howard.
\n\u201cThe deadly antisemitic terrorist attack \u200bat Bondi Beach is a national tragedy which can never be allowed to happen again,\u201d Burke said, adding that the government was committed to \u201cgetting dangerous guns off our streets.\u201d
\nNew South Wales, responding to the Bondi massacre, passed state laws in December banning private individuals from owning more than four firearms, with exemptions for farmers, who can have up to 10.
\nThe shooting in Bondi has also sparked calls for efforts to tackle antisemitism in Australia. Police say the \u200calleged gunmen were inspired by Daesh.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
SYDNEY The number of firearms in Australia reached an all-time high of more than 4 million in 2025, the center-left government reported \u200bon Sunday, a day after saying it would introduce a gun reform bill in parliament in response to the Bondi massacre. There were a record 4,113,735 guns in Australia last year, with 1,158,654 […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":526432,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-526406","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-world"},"yoast_head":"\n