The Bondi Beach Shooting and Australia’s Future

December 23, 2025
Jack Zhou

December 14 should have been a day of celebration. Indeed, that Sunday marked the first day of Hanukkah, with over 1,000 people gathering at Bondi Beach in Sydney, Australia, to celebrate. Yet, after a few hours of celebration, a mass shooting took place, leaving 42 people hospitalized and 15 people dead, the deadliest mass shooting in Australia in almost 30 years.

Since the incident, which has been described as an antisemitic terrorist attack, two suspected gunmen have been identified: one is 50-year-old man Sajid Akram, who died at the scene, and his 24-year-old son Naveed Akram. Naveed has since been charged with 40 counts. Australia’s federal police commissioner Krissy Barett has announced that they are investigating a lead on whether this was “a terrorist attack inspired by Islamic State.”

Unfortunately, the Bondi Beach mass shooting is not the first antisemitic attack over the past few years. In fact, the Executive Council of Australian Jewry (ECAJ) has documented 1,654 antisemitic incidents between October 2024 and September 2025. Despite these threats, the Australian government has largely negated most of the concerns of the Jewish community. As a result, Jewish leaders and representatives harshly criticized the government after what they viewed as the culmination of antisemitic sentiment within the country. These calls and the brutality of the Bondi Beach attack have prompted Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese to vow to take government action to stamp out antisemitism.

Australia has a large history of responding to gun violence promptly with sweeping legislation. In fact, Australia’s strict gun laws have been modeled and praised by other countries. This time the Prime Minister has announced a nationwide firearm buyback program. The approach taken by the government is similar to the buyback program in 1996 after the Port Arthur massacre. The government hopes to enact several other provisions as well including expediting the establishment of a National Firearms Register, increasing the usage of "criminal intelligence” for firearms licensing, limiting the number of guns that can be owned, limit the types of guns that can be owned, limiting guns to only Australian citizens, and enacting stricter restrictions on customs related to firearms.

One of the reasons why Australia has been so effective at enacting huge policy changes is because of the National Cabinet. What started off as a way to coordinate the COVID-19 pandemic response has since been used to respond to huge issues of national significance. The National Cabinet is composed of the PM as well as the premiers and chief ministers of all of Australia’s states and territories, convening to agree on priorities and get leaders of their respective parliaments to rally support for those priorities. This has allowed for large policies like social media restrictions, and could be used to enact huge changes for Australia’s gun policies, swiftly.

Australia has been a beacon of light for how smart policymaking on firearms can reduce gun violence. That light has faltered since the Bondi Beach terrorist attack. However, if Australia follows through on making the proper reforms–just like it did in the past–the beacon of light can continue shining brightly.