National

Labour’s Firearms & Hate Speech Reforms Expected to Pass Parliament After Debate

Shivangi

Jan 20, 2026 3:43 PM IST

Category National

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Synopsis

In the aftermath of the incidents at Bondi Beach in late 2025, Parliament has been quick to push through a raft of new national security measures. The Prime Minister Anthony Albanese conceded recently that the hate speech laws were a step in the right direction but not as stringent as he first planned because politics got in the way. Accompanying those shifts, sweeping gun control measures have advanced through the House of Representatives, which would impose stringent limits on several firearms and establish a national buyback program designed to reduce the stock of high-capacity weapons throughout the country.

The Australian government is poised to implement among the most far-reaching security laws in a generation. The Labour gun and hate speech reforms are in response to the horrific terror at Bondi Beach last December when 15 people were killed. Prime Minister Anthony Albanese called Parliament back early this year to take on what he dubbed a “dual threat” of hate-spewing extremists and the ease with which high-powered firearms could be obtained.

Why Parliament Was Expected to Pass New Laws This Week

The only cause of optimism that Parliament would pass these measures on Tuesday is a last-ditch offer from the government to the opposition. In order to guarantee that the laws could make progress, the government opted to separate the original proposal into two pieces of legislation. This has allowed the Liberal Party to get behind the national security components of the legislation but continue to express concerns about its impact on free speech.

The rules on hate speech the Prime Minister said “get us to a place that’s not as strong as we would like,” especially in terms of protections for anti-Semitism. But passing something immediately was more important than waiting months for the “perfect” bill at a time when communities felt unsafe, he said.

New Australian Gun Law Reforms Come Into Force

A significant part of the response has been a push for Australian gun laws being described as the most dramatic change to firearm ownership since the 1996 Port Arthur massacre. Under the new guidelines, which already passed the House of Representatives, there would be a hard cap on the number of guns that one person could own. It restricted the majority of recreational shooters to a maximum of four guns, and farmers and professional users to an upper limit of 10.

The plan also calls for a national gun buyback program. Over the next two years, the government will also work with states and territories to offer money to owners handing in newly-banned high-capacity and rapid-fire weapons. This push is intended to eliminate outright what officials say is a record number of guns on the street, which has skyrocketed in recent years.

An Introduction to the New Hate Speech Laws

The hate speech legislation creates new criminal terms for “hate preachers” and leaders who support or incite violence. It also provides additional powers to the Home Affairs Minister to cancel the visas of those who spread extremist ideas, even if they have not been convicted of a crime. This aspect of the law is based on similar provisions in Canada and would prevent radical leaders from coming to Australia.

Although the laws have widespread backing, they haven’t been without critics. The Greens have raised concerns that the rules may be used to shut down peaceful protest, while some Independent members of Parliament including Senator Lidia Thorpe requested that the new tracking systems also be used for weapons by police. Regardless, the government is already steamrolling its way forward, claiming that after recent violent events public safety can brook no delay.

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