Australia set to pass tougher gun control laws in response to mass shooting

Australia is poised to pass new laws to enable a national gun buyback and tighten background checks for gun licences in response to the country’s worst mass shooting in decades at a Jewish festival last month.



The bill passed the House of Representatives on Tuesday by a vote of 96 to 45, despite being opposed by conservative lawmakers. It will now go to the Senate where it is expected to pass with the support of the Greens party.



The December 14 attack at Bondi Beach ‍that killed 15 people was carried out by individuals who had "hate in their hearts and guns in their hands," Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke said as he introduced the new laws.



"The tragic events at Bondi demand a comprehensive response from government," Burke said. "As a government, we must do everything we can to counter both the motivation and the method."



The new measures would establish the largest national gun buyback scheme since one implemented after a massacre in 1996 in Tasmania's Port Arthur where a lone gunman killed 35 people.



They would also introduce tougher background checks for firearm licences issued by Australia's states by drawing on information held by the Australian Security Intelligence Organisation.