By Farid Farid and Dominic Giannini
Controversial anti-protest laws and tightened gun rules have passed after a marathon parliamentary debate running into the early hours of Christmas Eve.
NSW Premier Chris Minns succeeded in pushing through legislation to cap gun ownership, limit magazine capacity and tighten regulation around licences after the Bondi terrorist attack that left 15 people dead.
The marathon debate in the upper house ended at close to 3am on Wednesday after parliament was urgently recalled following the mass shooting, Australia’s most deadly since the 1996 Port Arthur massacre.
Omnibus legislation spanning gun reform, protest restrictions and hate speech crackdowns passed 18 to eight votes after a two-day emergency session.
It is due to be rubber-stamped in the lower house later in the day.
The reforms were supported by the Liberals but not their junior coalition partner the Nationals, who opposed further firearm restrictions.
The laws passed with a last-minute amendment from the Greens to ban gun ownership for anyone investigated for terrorism-related offences, as well as members of their households.
Police Minister Yasmin Catley defended the rushed changes as being necessary.
“I have made no apology for being very swift and taking swift action here,” she told Sydney radio station 2GB on Wednesday.
“We do not want to see this (attack) again.”
Federal Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke said information sharing between national and state agencies about gun licence-holders was a crucial gap that needed to be plugged.
The slain 50-year-old gunman Sajid Akram legally purchased three guns in one day in 2023 after his 24-year-old son Naveed was investigated by ASIO in 2019.
“At the moment, there’s a system where the states have a limited sharing of actual convictions and a limited criminal intelligence,” Mr Burke said.
Federal Labor has pledged to make information-sharing with states more transparent by giving them “a warning light” about a person of interest who hasn’t committed a crime.
Gun-safety advocate Walter Mikac, whose wife and two young daughters were killed in the Port Arthur massacre, lauded the steps taken by the Minns government.
“Firearm ownership is a privilege, not a right,” the founding patron of the Alannah & Madeline Foundation said.
“Today’s decision reflects the community’s expectation that gun laws be rigorous, responsible and focused on public safety,” he said.
Police powers to prevent public gatherings after a terrorist event also passed but will face a legal challenge as opponents brand the changes draconian and an overreach.
Public assemblies can be restricted for up to 90 days following a declared terrorist incident.
Palestine Action Group, Jews Against the Occupation and Blak Caucus are planning to challenge the protest provisions in court but the premier said he was confident the laws would withstand the constitutional contest.
Multiple members of Labor’s backbench spoke out against the crackdown, including Anthony D’Adam and Stephen Lawrence, who called it disproportionate.
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