Gun laws will be significantly tightened and protests restricted for up to three months in New South Wales at the behest of the police commissioner, under an emergency set of laws introduced to the state parliament in the wake of the Bondi shooting.
The bill is being debated in the lower house on Monday and is expected to pass with the support of the NSW Liberal party, and pass the upper house on Tuesday.
But the NSW Nationals are expected to oppose the legislation because of the impact that the gun restrictions would have on farmers and their use in rural NSW.
The main elements of the changes relating to guns are: a limit of four guns per individual, except for professional shooters, who may own up to 10 guns; renewals of licences every two years; bans on belt magazines and an extension of the requirement to be a member of a shooting club for most licence categories in order to extend informal supervision of gun owners in NSW.
Appeals against a refusal by NSW police to grant a gun licence will be abolished, giving police a final say in who holds a licence.
Minns said the state had already budgeted $150m for a gun buyback and matching commonwealth funding would give the state a total of $300m to buy back weapons.
The changes to the protest laws have already drawn strong criticisms from civil liberties groups and the Greens.
The laws give the NSW police commissioner, with the concurrence of the minister, the power to ban protests for three months after a terrorist attack.
It allows police to ban protests in a particular area and the whole state, and gives police new powers to remove face coverings.
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The bill also introduces new offences for using certain phrases, with the premier suggesting that the list should include “globalise the intifada”. The details of prohibited hate speech and hate symbols on the list will be the subject of a parliamentary inquiry early next year.
In a statement on Monday morning, the Nationals leader, Gurmesh Singh, said his party would not support changes he said would impose “arbitrary limits and doesn’t give our regional businesses the tools they need to do their jobs”.
“The proposed reforms would not have stopped last Sunday’s attack and fail to address the root cause of the issue – antisemitism,” he said. The Nationals’ opposition to the bill comes after NSW Farmers and shooting bodies spoke out against the changes.
On Monday, the Greens’ justice spokesperson, Sue Higginson, described the anti-protest laws as “the most draconian, authoritarian anti-protest laws this country has ever seen”.
“I have no doubt this power that the premier is asking NSW parliament to pass today and tomorrow is unconstitutional,” she said, speaking outside parliament. Guardian Australia understands the Greens will move amendments to the bill in the upper house.
Asked about the concerns of the Palestinian Action Group and the NSW Council for Civil Liberties about the curtailing of the right to protest, Minns responded: “Ratcheting up the pressure, ratcheting up the rhetoric and language can unleash forces that you can’t control, and [that] it’s not necessarily their job to control – but it is mine.”
“It is my responsibility, because we can’t have a repeat of what happened on Sunday or any variation of it. Things are tense at the moment,” he said.
In a statement released after a party room meeting on Monday morning, Sloane said the Liberals would support the bill, but added the opposition had “serious reservations about the way the government has sought to rush this legislation through parliament”.
“There has been a clear lack of meaningful engagement with key stakeholders, including the opposition and crossbench, stakeholders and those responsible for implementation.”
The shadow attorney general flagged the Liberals may move amendments to further toughen the laws.
The NSW parliament has reconvened on Monday and Tuesday this week to rush through the changes. Moving a motion of condolence for the 15 victims of the attack at the start of the session, the premier, Chris Minns, told MPs: “We must make these changes”.
“I know I speak for all members of this parliament, all members of this parliament, when I say to the Jewish people of this state, this is your home, this has always been your home, and we must do everything we possibly can to ensure that you are safe and you are protected in this city.”
Minns was also asked about the sequence of events surrounding the granting of a gun licence to the older deceased gunman, Sajid Akram. Minns said he was unable to answer questions about why there was a three-year delay between his applying for a gun licence in 2020 and the gun licence being granted – and whether there had been concerns over his suitability.
“I understand. It’s genuinely an interesting question. I know people want to get to the bottom of it. It’s one of the reasons why we want comprehensive, independent royal commission to understand these questions.”
Minns said he was now considering a suitable jurist to head a NSW royal commission into the Bondi massacre. He promised the commission would seek to look at the performance of Asio and the AFP, as well as NSW agencies, and more broadly at the causes of antisemitism.
Minns rejected the suggestion a commonwealth royal commission would be more appropriate.
