In Australia, the New South Wales parliament recalled today for a special session to pass the strictest gun and protest laws in a generation following a devastating terrorist attack at Bondi Beach on December 14, 2025. During that incident, a father and son inspired by the Islamic State opened fire on a Hanukkah festival, killing 15 people and injuring dozens more. In direct response to the massacre, the new legislation proposes capping firearm ownership at four guns per person, with a limit of 10 for primary producers like farmers, while also shortening license renewals to every two years and banning high-capacity belt-fed magazines.

Beyond gun control, the government is seeking “extraordinary powers” to allow the police commissioner to ban public protests for up to three months following a terror event and prohibit the display of extremist symbols. While some groups argue these measures are necessary to ensure a “summer of calm,” others have criticised the move as an overreach that could unfairly impact law-abiding gun owners and the right to peaceful assembly.