2 months ago
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The NSW Nationals will oppose the government’s legislative response to the Bondi terror attacks over concerns about restricting access to guns, creating a split within the Coalition ahead of two days of parliament.
With Coalition MPs meeting on Monday morning, senior party sources unauthorised to speak publicly confirmed the Nationals would oppose the Terrorism and Other Legislation Amendment Bill 2025 rather than just the elements pertaining to limiting access to guns.
The memorial was flooded with flowers, candles, handwritten notes, flags, and other sentimental items following last Sunday’s attack.Credit: Sitthixay Ditthavong
NSW Premier Chris Minns recalled parliament for two days to push through a series of reforms after the Bondi terror attacks on December 14. The bill has three main elements: creating an offence for displaying terrorist symbols such as the IS flag; significant restrictions on firearm possession; and allowing the police commissioner to prevent protests occurring for up to three months after a terrorism incident.
In a statement provided to this masthead on Monday morning, Nationals leader Gurmesh Singh accused the government of not working with the opposition in “good faith” and failing to consult key regional stakeholders.
“We cannot support a bill that relies on 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 NSW Nationals will not be supporting the legislation and will continue to stand up for the diverse communities of NSW who deserve better.”
Gurmesh Singh, the leader of the NSW Nationals.Credit: Edwina Pickles
NSW Farmers Association president Xavier Martin had blasted the gun reforms as “unworkable” for their members, accusing the government of “misleading” farmers.
Opposition Leader Kellie Sloane said the Liberals would support the bill despite “serious reservations” about the way the government had sought to ram the legislation through parliament.
Nationals MP and opposition police spokesman Paul Toole declared he would vote against the bill because of the gun reforms, which he called a distraction from antisemitism.
“Over the past two and a half years, the failure of the federal and state Labor governments have done little to stop this growing environment of hatred and division,” he said.
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“And now they want to rush through gun law reform which attacks law-abiding citizens, our farmers, landholders, sporting shooters, gun shop owners and so on.”
A Liberal source lamented the Nationals’ decision, saying the party was falling into a trap set by the government to talk about gun control rather than radical Islam.
The Labor Friends of Palestine released a statement on Sunday urging the government to reconsider the protest element of the bill. Members of Minns’ cabinet, including ministers Jihad Dib and Penny Sharpe, attended the Harbour Bridge pro-Palestine march earlier this year.
More to come
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