Australia vows to strengthen hate speech laws, gun control in wake of Bondi Beach attack

In the wake of the mass shooting attack at Bondi Beach during a Hanukkah celebration, Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese announced a national gun buyback program and proposed new hate speech laws.

While the legislation has not yet been drafted, it is already causing controversy as fears that the laws could be wielded as political weapons emerge. Critics have also said that neither the gun buyback nor the hate speech laws are addressing the root of what led to the terror attack.

"Well, it's a bit hard for them to actually strengthen the laws. It's not clear what they're proposing to do," Dr. Reuben Kirkham, one of the directors of the Free Speech Union of Australia, told Fox News Digital. "What they're probably going to try and do is widen it to include a bunch of things that are not to do with hate speech, necessarily."

Albanese told reporters on Friday that the government was working to "get the laws right" and acknowledged the complexities surrounding the issue. He said that "there are issues of free speech involved in this as well — we want to make sure that these laws don't get passed and then get knocked over."

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The proposed changes include federal offenses for "aggravated hate speech," aimed at preachers who promote violence and "serious vilification" based on race, the Australian Broadcasting Corporation reported. The outlet noted that just 10 months ago, the government strengthened federal hate speech laws with the goal of curbing antisemitism and Islamophobia.

Simultaneously, New South Wales (NSW), where the terror attack took place, is considering banning chants of the phrase "globalize the intifada," which many consider to be an antisemitic call for violence against Jews. The ban would also apply to public displays of ISIS flags and extremist symbols.

Additionally, NSW Premier Chris Minns said, under the ban, police would be given more powers to demand that protesters remove face coverings during demonstrations, according to The Associated Press.

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Kirkham told Fox News Digital that existing anti-vilification laws have already been used to shut down speech that opposes government views. He believes that if these laws are strengthened in the wake of the Bondi Beach shooting, they would be used as political weapons, rather than protections for everyday people. Additionally, Kirkham said that he sees this as the government using the attack as an opportunity to pass laws that fit its views.

Furthermore, Kirkham argues that Albanese's proposal could actually increase antisemitism rather than put an end to it.

"What they’re basically saying is, ‘Well, we need more censorship laws. Why? Well, apparently to protect Jewish people.’ So what they’re saying to these communities is, ‘We’re censoring you to protect the Jews.’ I mean, how is that going to go down? Is that going to improve the issue of antisemitism, or is it going to make it worse?"

While the Australian government has focused its response on hate speech and gun laws, critics, such as Kirkham, say the Bondi Beach attack revealed intelligence failures.

Albanese said Friday that intelligence indicated that the attack at Bondi Beach was in fact inspired by ISIS.

"We've been informed that the Office of National Intelligence has identified a regular online video feed from ISIS that reinforces that this was an ISIS-inspired attack. Further work has been done by the security agencies around motivation, and we'll continue to meet and provide them with whatever support they need at this difficult time," Albanese told reporters.

Fox News Digital reached out to Albanese's office for comment.

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Bill Roggio, a senior fellow at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, told Fox News Digital that governments in the West have routinely failed to tackle the problems behind Islamic extremism-inspired attacks.

"The problem here is there's this radical Islamist ideology that spans a spectrum from political Islam, the Muslim Brotherhood, to Hamas and Palestinian terrorist groups, to al-Qaeda and Islamic State, and we in the West refuse to, and have from the very beginning since 9/11, refuse to actually take that on," Roggio said. "We don't want to admit that there is an actual problem within Islam, not with Islam, but within Islam."

As authorities investigate the shooting attack, a focal point has become the father-son gunmen's trip to the Philippines just before the shooting at Bondi Beach.

The GV Hotel in Davao City said that the men booked their stay through a third party and were initially scheduled to arrive on Nov. 15 but instead arrived on Nov. 1, according to Reuters. An employee told Reuters the two booked the room for seven days but extended their stay three times and paid in cash. The hotel worker also said that the men barely interacted with staff and that they had no visitors.

Philippine National Police Brig. Gen. Leon Victor Rosete, the Davao region’s police director, told the Guardian that the older gunman was interested in firearms. He also spoke of the gunmen's "jog walk" that was captured on CCTV, adding that the two appeared to be doing "physical conditioning" exercises.

"The father has shown interest in firearms. He entered a firearms shop," Rosete told the Guardian. He later said that they did not visit any firing ranges in Davao.

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Davao City is located on the island of Mindanao, which has been under a "Level 3: Reconsider Travel" advisory since May. However, the State Department said Davao City, in addition to a few other locations, is an exception to the advisory.

Roggio told Fox News Digital that Mindanao is a "known hotbed for Islamist groups."

"If they weren't at actual camps to get training, they could have been getting advice on how to plot the attack, where to plot the attack, what the target should be," Roggio told Fox News Digital. He said the two could have also received additional "indoctrination" while in the Philippines.

"Three weeks-plus isn't enough to become a highly efficient two-man fire team, but they clearly got enough training to make that happen," Roggio said.

As authorities work to piece together how and why the Bondi Beach attack occurred, the debate over the government’s response continues, with critics warning that a band-aid solution will fail to address the root of the problem.