NSW Premier Chris Minns is looking to recall parliament “as soon as possible” to introduce legislation cracking down on gun ownership and licensing in the state.
“The areas that we will look at are the perpetual nature of licences to ensure that people have to renew, we will particularly look at whether criminal intelligence, rather than criminal records, is a reason to restrict access to a licence. Of course age limits, and access to particular kinds of guns, as well as the quantity of guns,” he said on Tuesday morning (December 16th).
“I’m determined to introduce the toughest gun legislation in the country, and I believe it needs to be passed and put into legislation as soon as possible.”
The crack down comes in the aftermath of a mass shooting terror attack in Sydney’s Bondi on Sunday night (December 14th), which left 16 dead, including one of the two gunmen, Sajid Akram.
Over 40 people were hospitalised following the attack, including two police officers and a bystander, identified as Ahmed al Ahmed, who tackled and disarmed the 50-year-old gunman. Their conditions are currently serious. The second gunman, Sajid’s 24-year-old son Naveed Akram, is also is hospital under police guard.
NSW Police recovered six firearms from the scene in Bondi, later confirming these had been licensed to Sajid Akram. Commissioner Mal Lanyon said he had met the eligibility for a firearms licence for recreational hunting, and had held these licenses for the past ten years.
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Meanwhile, Naveed Akram first came to the attention of Australia’s intelligence agency ASIO in 2019, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese confirmed. “He was examined on the basis of being associated with others and the assessment was made that there was no indication of any ongoing threat or threat of him engaging in violence.”
Australia’s gun laws are widely regarded as among the strictest in the world. However, the revelations have prompted scrutiny of how a man was able to legally own six firearms and hold a valid licence while his son had previously come to the attention of ASIO.
Under NSW law, firearms licensing is governed by the Firearms Act 1996 and administered by the NSW Police Firearms Registry. The system is deliberately restrictive, but it is also rules-based. It regulates the individual licence holder, not their family members, and they operate through administrative processes rather than intelligence-based bans.
To obtain a firearms licence in NSW, an applicant must demonstrate a “genuine reason” for owning a gun. Accepted reasons include recreational hunting, sport or target shooting, primary production, business or employment, and collecting under strict conditions.
For recreational hunting or shooting, one of the most common pathways is membership of an approved gun or hunting club, which Sajid Akram had, which satisfies the legal requirement for a genuine reason.
