Australian Prime Minister, Anthony Albanese, has unveiled a national firearms buy-back initiative aimed at “getting more guns off our streets” in response to the Bondi Beach massacre.
Speaking at a press briefing in Canberra on Friday, Albanese explained that the program would purchase surplus, newly banned, and illegal firearms.
The government plans to introduce legislation to fund the scheme, with costs shared between federal and state authorities.
“We expect hundreds of thousands of firearms will be collected and destroyed through this scheme,” the prime minister added.
Albanese also revealed plans for a day of reflection for the victims on December 21, with flags on New South Wales and Australian government buildings to be lowered to half-staff, alongside a national day of mourning in the new year.
Meanwhile, hundreds of surfers gathered at Bondi Beach on Friday morning for a paddle-out, demonstrating solidarity with the victims and rejecting fear and hatred.
Lifeguards Jimmy and Rupert, who assisted in rescue efforts, shared their experiences of trauma and the community’s healing process, CNN affiliate 7News reported.
The prime minister emphasized that investigations into the attackers’ motivations and methods are ongoing. The National Security Committee has convened six times since the incident.
“Today, we’ve been informed that the office of national intelligence has identified a regular online video feed from ISIS that reinforces that this was an ISIS-inspired attack,” Albanese said.
“Further work is being done by the security agencies around motivation and we’ll continue to meet and provide them with whatever support they need at this difficult time.”
Under the buy-back initiative, states and territories will manage the collection of firearms and payments to those surrendering weapons, while the federal police will oversee their destruction.
“The terrible events of Bondi show we need to get more guns off our streets,” Albanese said, describing the plan as the largest gun buy-back effort since 1996.
Australia already enforces some of the world’s strictest gun laws and has among the lowest gun homicide rates.
Following the 1996 Port Arthur massacre, where a lone gunman killed 35 people using semiautomatic weapons, authorities implemented sweeping restrictions and launched a buy-back scheme that removed more than 650,000 newly prohibited firearms.
However, Albanese noted that there are now over four million firearms in Australia, more than at the time of the Port Arthur tragedy.
Honoring the Victims
Friday also saw the funerals of Bondi victims Boris Tetleroyd, Edith Brutman, and married couple Boris and Sofia Gurman.
Mourners gathered at Chevra Kadisha Memorial Hall in Woollahra, Sydney, to honor the Gurmans, who were caught on dashcam confronting one of the suspected shooters.
The couple, aged 69 and 61, had been preparing to celebrate their 35th wedding anniversary in January and were remembered as longtime Bondi locals who cherished their community, according to a GoFundMe campaign.
Tetleroyd, described by his niece as a “beloved husband and father,” had been attending the Hanukkah event with his son when the shooting occurred.
Brutman, remembered for her dedication to fighting discrimination, was praised by colleagues as a “decent hard-working friend and associate with a big heart and with lots of passion.”
