Australia’s gun buyback is the wrong response to Bondi Beach massacre

Published December 22, 2025 6:00am ET



Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has called for a national “gun buyback” program in the wake of the Bondi Beach massacre. But additional restrictions on gun ownership aren’t the solution. Instead, they’ll distract from larger, more difficult problems to solve.

On December 19, Albanese announced that the Australian government will establish a “national gun buyback scheme.” The prime minister told reporters that he “expects hundreds of thousands of firearms will be collected and destroyed.” 

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