Sydney: The Australian government has announced a gun buyback program in an attempt to curb violence following a major mass shooting on Sunday. Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese announced today that the government will launch a nationwide gun buyback program. This program comes as the government prepares to tighten gun control laws, including issuing gun permits only to Australian citizens and stricter background checks for permit applicants. The buyback program will allow individuals possessing more firearms than legally permitted or those with illegal possession to sell them back, with funding from the federal and local governments. The Australian government will also be revising its anti-hate laws to make them more stringent.
According to Thai News Agency, currently, there are over 4 million legally registered firearms in Australia. Australia previously implemented a gun buyback program, purchasing 640,000 firearms in 1996 following the mass shooting in Port Arthur, Tasmania, which left 35 people dead. That program cost the government a total of A$304 million (over 6.3 billion baht).
Australia hopes to de-escalate violence after a shooting at a Hanukkah celebration near Bondi Beach on Sunday left 15 people dead. Australian leaders have declared a day of mourning for the victims of the mass shooting on Sunday, December 21st, asking Australians to light candles at 6:47 p.m., the exact time of the incident, to commemorate and honor those who died on the seventh day since the attack. This is to show solidarity with the Jewish community, and flags will be flown at half-mast at government buildings. A further national day of mourning will be observed over the New Year period.