In the wake of the Bondi terrorist attack, the National Cabinet has been quick to signal firearm law reforms, encouraged by long-standing anti-firearm activists seeking to advance their agenda.
SSAA is working in a coordinated and disciplined manner to represent the interests of licensed, law-abiding firearm owners across Australia. Led by SSAA National CEO Tom Kenyon, state branches are actively sharing information, analysing developments, and preparing detailed responses.
What is both clear and deeply troubling is this: the mechanisms already exist to prevent prohibited persons from gaining access to firearms – and in this case, those mechanisms were not used effectively.
It is not reasonable, nor is it evidence-based, to conclude that shortcomings in Australia’s firearm laws enabled this attack. The facts point instead to serious failures within Australia’s national security apparatus and multiple leadership-level failures within NSW Police.
Those failures – not the conduct of licensed shooters nor the framework that regulates them – directly allowed this individual to obtain firearms.
Licensed firearm owners should not be made to bear the consequences of failures by agencies whose core responsibilities include preventing precisely this type of threat.
On 16 December 2025, Tom Kenyon was interviewed for the ABC TV 7.30 program.
On 16 December 2025, Tom Kenyon spoke to Heidi Murphy on Radio 3AW drive – dispelling many of the myths about firearm licensing and reiterating that the Bondi incident was a failure by law enforcement, not of firearm regulations.
On 16 December 2025, Tom Kenyon spoke to ABC Regional Radio Breakfast – highlighting that most shooters live in suburbia and that the firearm laws did not fail, the agencies entrusted to use apply the laws to keep society safe did.
On 16 December 2025, Tom Kenyon spoke to the Victorian Country Hour on ABC Radio – again putting the case for licensed shooters and pointing out the real failings at Bondi.
In 2022, Journalist Benjamin Preiss from The Age completed SSAA Victoria’s Practical Firearm Training Program and obtained a Victorian Firearms Licence. His article outlining the reality of the licensing process was published in The Age on 18 December 2025.
Victorian political response
The Victorian Government has indicated an intention to proceed with firearm law reform, whilst the Nationals (a part of the Coalition opposition) and the Shooters, Fishers and Farmers Party have expressed opposition.
The statement from the Victorian Government (Labor)
While this act of terrorism took place in Sydney – it affects every Australian. It’s why Victoria strongly supported the work of National Cabinet yesterday.
First Ministers agreed to strengthen gun laws across the nation and have commissioned their Police Ministers and Attorneys-General to develop options, including:
- Accelerating work on standing up the National Firearms Register;
- Allowing for additional use of criminal intelligence to underpin firearms licencing that can be used in administrative licencing regimes;
- Limiting the number of firearms to be held by any one individual;
- Limiting open-ended firearms licencing and the types of guns that are legal, including modifications; and
- A condition of a firearm license is holding Australian citizenship.
First Ministers also reiterated their commitment to the Permanent National Firearms Amnesty to reduce the number of unregistered firearms in the community.
This builds on the work already underway in Victoria which includes recent changes to Firearm Prohibition Orders to stop the spread of illicit firearms.
These changes also delivered tougher bail laws for firearms offences and laws that give police the powers they need to serve Firearm Prohibition Orders to those dodging police to avoid being served.
The statement from the Nationals
Statement from Leader and Deputy Leader of The Nationals
State and Federal Governments must focus on the root cause of the Bondi terrorist attack and any policy response must address the fundamental failings behind this tragic incident.
The horrendous attack by radical Islamist terrorists has sent shockwaves through the nation and exposed the failure of governments to act on rising antisemitism since October 7, 2023.
Leader of The Nationals, Danny O’Brien, said state and federal governments should not solely focus on changes to gun laws, at the expense of a more comprehensive response to stamp out hate-fuelled violence.
“We are all appalled by this act of senseless violence. Government’s must focus on the root cause – a hateful ideology that has been enabled by governments failing to act against rising antisemitism.
“Australia already has some of the toughest gun laws in the world and we need to ensure that law-abiding firearm owners aren’t penalised unnecessarily.”
“We are open to sensible and proportionate changes like a national firearms register and only allowing Australian citizens to hold a licence, but not legal changes that will impact law-abiding firearm owners without making any difference to terrorists and criminals.”
Deputy Leader of The Nationals and Shadow Minister for Agriculture, Emma Kealy, said any response must be common sense.
“Our farmers need access to firearms for business operations, and they certainly don’t need more restrictions and regulations that won’t improve community safety.
“This is a gross failure of Labor Governments to take decisive action against antisemitism that has resulted in a horrific act of terror. Forcing law-abiding firearm owners to pay the price for policy failures does not take additional steps in keeping the community safe.”
The statement from the Shooters, Fishers and Farmers Party
The statement from the Libertarians
When awful tragedies like the recent massacre in Bondi occur, there are always calls
on the Government to do something. People want to feel reassured that there is
something in place to prevent future incidents.
This can lead to knee-jerk responses and bad laws. Proposals being discussed by
federal and state Governments at the moment to punish licensed, law-abiding,
firearms owners are an example of this.
The Bondi massacre doesn’t represent a failure of our firearms laws, it represents a
serious system failure of our intelligence and policing systems. This was an attack by
radical Islamic extremists, targeting men, women and children of the Jewish
community.
Licensed firearm owners are among the most law-abiding people in our community.
They have to be to maintain their license. The Libertarian Party Victoria opposes
scapegoating firearm owners, who have done nothing wrong.
David Limbrick MP, leader of the Libertarian Party Victoria said,
“We need to focus on the root cause of these crimes, not the tools that were used to
commit them.
Terrorists hate the freedoms that western civilization was founded on and we
shouldn’t sacrifice these freedoms for an illusion of safety.”
Australia has a very low rate of homicides involving firearms and the vast majority of
these are committed with illegal weapons. The Libertarian Party will not support
efforts to punish law-abiding firearms owners for the actions of extremists. Efforts
should be directed towards ensuring that terrorists find no place of comfort in
Australia.
