Australia Passes Stricter Gun, Anti-Hate Laws After Mass Shooting
RNE Network
Australia’s lower house of parliament has passed new laws introducing a national gun buyback, stricter background checks for gun licences, and tougher measures against hate crimes, following the country’s worst mass shooting in decades at a Jewish festival last month.
The two bills, passed on Tuesday during a special session of the House of Representatives, will now move to the upper house, the Senate, for debate. The gun control laws are expected to pass with support from the Greens party despite opposition from the conservative Liberal-National coalition. The anti-hate laws are likely to pass with backing from the Liberal Party.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese recalled parliament early from its summer break for the two-day special session, aiming to strengthen curbs after the shooting shocked the nation and reignited calls for tougher action on gun control and antisemitism.
