Walter Mikac, who lost his wife Nanette and two young daughters Alannah and Madeline in the Port Arthur massacre, has welcomed new gun reforms introduced after the horror Bondi Beach tragedy that claimed 15 innocent lives.
Martin Bryant used a Colt AR-15 semi-automatic rifle and a battle rifle to fire at innocent victims on April 28, 1996, killing 35 people and injuring 23 at the popular tourist area in Tasmania.
He pleaded guilty to the attack and was given 35 life sentences without parole.
Australia reacted to the massacre by strengthening gun laws with the National Firearms Agreement.
In the wake of the horrific Bondi Beach shooting on Sunday, Mr Mikac, who founded The Alannah and Madeline Foundation to protect children from violence, has praised the new gun reforms introduced by NSW Premier Chris Minns.
‘I am pleased that Premier Minns has listened to the community and to our gun safety experts and reconfirmed community safety as the central tenet of our gun laws,’ Mr Mikac told news.com.au on Saturday.
‘The horrific terror attack at Bondi Beach last Sunday is a devastating reminder that strong gun laws must evolve to address new risks – not be weakened or undermined.
‘This attack was fuelled by hate, but guns allowed that hate to be weaponised as terror.’
Mr Mikac (pictured with six-year-old Alannah and three-year-old Madeline in happier times) said guns allowed hate to be weaponised as terror
Mr Mikac lost his wife Nanette and two young daughters Alannah and Madeline in the Port Arthur massacre in 1996 (the family is pictured)
Pictured is 4,500 prohibited firearms that were handed in following the Port Arthur massacre
On Friday, Minns announced his government was proposing a cap on how many firearms an individual can own.
The new legislation will limit ownership to four firearms, with strict exemptions for primary producers and sporting shooters.
‘We will reclassify straight, pull, pump-action, button, lever release firearms into category C – limiting their access primarily to farmers, agriculture and primary producers. We’ll reduce magazine capacities for category A and B firearms to a maximum of five to 10 rounds from a current unlimited capacity,’ he said.
‘We’ll introduce a complete ban on firearms that can use belt-fed magazines and we will remove the New South Wales Civil and Administrative Tribunal review pathway once a designation has been made that the licence should be taken.
‘These are extraordinary measures.
‘I want to make it clear they’re not the end of the measures.’
The move followed similar federal legislation announced by Prime Minister Anthony Albanese earlier that day.
The Labor government has launched a national buyback scheme to collect and destroy newly-banned and illegal firearms from Australian gun owners.
Mr Mikac has praised the gun reforms introduced after the Bondi Beach shooting on Sunday
Former Olympic sport shooter and federal MP for Hunter Dan Repacholi (pictured) has said he will not support the proposed gun law changes
The MP said the changes unfairly target law-abiding firearms owners
Albanese said the scheme will be the ‘largest buyback since the Howard government initiated one in 1996’, following the Port Arthur massacre.
However, the reforms have sparked debate between Aussies, after former Olympic sport shooter and federal MP for Hunter Dan Repacholi said he would not support the changes.
‘I won’t be voting on NSW firearms legislation,’ he said, noting they fall under state, not federal, legislation.
‘Australia has strong gun laws and they save lives, but I do not support changes that unfairly target responsible, law-abiding firearms owners.
‘Measures that are blunt, symbolic, or simply designed to appease public anger without improving safety are not the answer.’
Repacholi, a licensed firearms owner, said he had gone through background checks, fit and proper person assessments, training and waiting periods.
‘I understand the responsibility that comes with lawful ownership, and I know that the overwhelming majority of firearms owners do the right thing,’ he said.
NSW Premier Chris Minns announced proposed reforms to state gun laws on Friday
The number of firearms people will be permitted to own will be capped at four (stock image)
‘What happened at Bondi was horrific and should never have occurred. People are right to ask hard questions about whether it could have been prevented.
‘From what we are learning, the focus should be on information sharing, risk identification and enforcement of existing powers, not on arbitrary limits that penalise people who have done nothing wrong.
‘NSW Police already have significant powers to suspend or cancel licences where someone is not fit and proper.’