One Of American Gun Owners’ Worst Nightmares Is Actually Happening In Australia

Australian gun owners are handing over their firearms in a “buyback” that commenced Monday, according to reports from the media.

Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese announced plans for a mass confiscation of firearms from law-abiding gun owners days after the December 2025 attack at Bondi Beach carried out by people associated with the radical Islamic terrorist group calling itself the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria. New South Wales Premier Chris Minns claimed the effort would make the Australian state safer, according to 7 News.

“These laws will save lives,” Minns claimed as the state began the “buyback” after passing a law that imposed caps on how many firearms a person could own. To date, New South Wales, which is located on the southeastern coast of Australia and which includes Sydney and Bondi Beach, is the only Australian state to pass the legislation championed by Albanese.

Albanese decried in a Dec. 19, 2025, release the fact that more guns were in private hands than at the time of the 1996 Port Arthur mass shooting as he announced his intention to enact new gun-control measures. In August, Albanese tore into other Australian states for not following New South Wales’ lead, according to the Australian Broadcasting Corporation.

“It’s not cheap, it will cost hundreds of millions of dollars,” Minns said, noting he pushed through the legislation despite upcoming elections.

“We know we’re going to take a hit politically, but some things are more important than politics and this is one of them,” Minns said.

Police in Australia have created a new “Armed Response Command” consisting of officers equipped with assault rifles. Australia banned modern semiautomatic firearms in the aftermath of the 1996 Port Arthur shooting, conducting a massive “buyback” of hundreds of thousands of legally-owned guns.