Queensland to Introduce New Gun Laws Criticized as Australia's Weakest

Queensland plans new gun laws allowing only citizens to obtain licences, sparking criticism as the weakest in Australia. Proposed measures include tougher penalties and hate speech laws, but omit firearm caps and buybacks.

Queensland's Gun Law Reforms Draw Criticism

Queensland is set to implement new gun control measures following the Bondi terror attack; however, gun control advocates have labelled the proposed laws as "the weakest guns laws in Australia". This criticism comes after the premier declined to impose limits on the number or types of firearms individuals can possess.

On Monday, Premier and Police Minister Dan Purdie announced what they described as the second phase of a three-part policy response to the Bondi shootings. The proposed legislation, scheduled for introduction to parliament on Tuesday, stipulates that only Australian citizens will be eligible to obtain a gun licence. Purdie noted exceptions for "sporting shooters and for work, businesses [and] primary producers".

The restriction will not be applied retroactively, meaning existing gun licences will remain valid. Purdie stated,

"We’re not looking [at] going back and doing an audit to try and find out how many on the register, what their citizen status is."

He added,

"Moving forward, when this is passed and proclaimed, if you apply for a licence, that’s when this will take effect".

Queensland has declined to participate in the national gun buyback program proposed by Prime Minister Anthony Albanese. Additionally, the state will not adopt New South Wales' approach of capping the number of firearms per licence holder. NSW legislation, enacted on Christmas Eve, limits recreational shooters to a maximum number of firearms and bans certain rapid-fire weapons.

Advocacy Groups Respond

Stephen Bendle, a senior advocacy adviser at the Alannah and Madeline Foundation—a group established after the Port Arthur massacre—expressed disappointment with the Queensland premier's stance. He said,

"Queensland will have the weakest gun laws in Australia, despite the premier’s rhetoric."

"None of the initiatives announced today does anything to prevent a Bondi or tragedy.

"Firearm safety advocates have had 45 minutes’ discussion with the government since Bondi. We have been ignored in our calls for national consistency in gun reforms. The firearm industry have clearly carried the day in Queensland."

Details of the Proposed Legislation

If enacted, the laws would introduce a mandatory minimum sentence for drive-by shootings, increase penalties for firearm and ammunition theft and trafficking, and establish new offences aimed at preventing ownership of 3D-printed weapons. The legislation also seeks to close a loophole that currently hinders police investigations into individuals planning terror attacks.

The laws would permit police to consider an applicant's criminal record when issuing a licence, even if no conviction was recorded.

Premier Crisafulli has emphasised that his primary focus in drafting the legislation is addressing antisemitism, while also aiming to facilitate the removal of firearms from "terrorists and criminals".

Hate Speech Legislation and Free Speech Concerns

The government plans to introduce hate speech legislation granting the attorney general authority to proscribe certain phrases. The government has indicated this would include the pro-Palestine protest chant "from the river to the sea." The new offence would criminalize the public distribution, publication, display, or recitation of a proscribed phrase intended to cause menace, harassment, or offence, with a maximum penalty of two years imprisonment.

Civil liberties groups and the Greens have criticised this move as "Orwellian" and an infringement on free speech. Greens MP Michael Berkman stated,

"The government is making itself the thought police. If they decide your words are offensive, you can go to jail for them.

Is that the kind of democracy we want to live in?"

Terry O’Gorman, vice-president of the Queensland Council for Civil Liberties, commented,

"Banning or criminalising a catch-cry, especially in public protest situations merely because it may ‘cause offence’, is an affront to free speech rights which have quite properly been protected in Queensland since the dark days of the Bjelke-Petersen street march ban in 1977."

Justice for Palestine is reportedly considering a legal challenge against Queensland’s new antisemitism legislation, according to spokesperson Remah Naji.