https://www.parliament.nsw.gov.au/la/Pages/ePetition-details.aspx?q=vIXRT1jpe3su04gChoZaZQ&utm_source=brevo&utm_campaign=promo%20email%201&utm_medium=email&utm_id=319
Graeme Johnson
President
SSAA Illawarra Branch & PC
Email addresses
kogarah@parliament.nsw.gov.au <kogarah@parliament.nsw.gov.au>; coffsharbour@parliament.nsw.gov.au<coffsharbour@parliament.nsw.gov.au>; rockdale@parliament.nsw.gov.au <rockdale@parliament.nsw.gov.au>; yasmin.catley@parliament.nsw.gov.au <yasmin.catley@parliament.nsw.gov.au>; liberal.leader@parliament.nsw.gov.au <liberal.leader@parliament.nsw.gov.au>; wollongong@parliament.nsw.gov.au <wollongong@parliament.nsw.gov.au>; alison.byrnes.mp@aph.gov.au<alison.byrnes.mp@aph.gov.au>
Letter 1
To: Chris Minns, Stephen Kamper, Yasmin Catley, Paul Scully, Alison Byrnes, Leader of the Liberals and Leader of the Nationals
Firearms Regulations – Reaction to Bondi Terrorism Attack
Dear Premier, Minister, Member of Parliament & Leaders
I am writing to you to ask that you consider us law abiding, responsible firearms owners in the coming Parliamentary discussions around changing Firearms Regulations in response to the Bondi Terrorism event.
I am currently a Hunter & Target shooter and have been involved in shooting sports for 55 years. There are several significant differences between the Port Arthur massacre and the Bondi Beach Terror Attack. Port Arthur was a mass shooting involving an individual who had easy access to semi-automatic firearms and the laws were changed to remove those types of firearms and introduce safe storage. It was done in consultation with industry and had a positive outcome, so much so that the world considers Australia the “Gold Standard” of firearm laws.
The event in Bondi was a tragic act of Terrorism and a hate crime fuelled by antisemitism, not a gun crime. I could write paragraphs about how changing the firearms regulations is not the best response and, in this case, would not have changed the outcome, however I understand that National Cabinet and now NSW Parliament are looking at the regulations as a response, so I will simply ask you to be considered in your representation of our electorate.
As you are probably aware, competitors in the shooting sports usually compete in several disciplines including long range precision events, short range benchrest, 500m & 200M Fly, BR30, IRB, 10m Air Rifle and Clay Target shooting. Each discipline, like all sports, requires at least a primary and a backup firearm. To compete in my chosen disciplines, I would use 10 or more different firearms across the year in various events. Limiting the number of firearms a law-abiding competitive shooter can own will destroy the sport and be something that will need to be fought and overturned if applied in haste.
Like 1996, this can be a time for reflection and some of the changes might be seen as being in the public interest, for example a strong National Firearms Register, recurring background checks and links to criminal intelligence for licence holders and the requirement to be an Australian Citizen are things I/we could agree with.
I strongly request that you advocate against a restrictive limit of firearms per person. With our gold standard safe storage requirements and the appropriate background checks for responsible citizens, this change will only be punitive to responsible gun owners, competitors and hunters, it will not in any way make the population safer or reduce firearm violence in Australia.
I thank you for your consideration and look forward to seeing you at events around our town and even back at the Sporting Shooters range at Hill Top.
Yours sincerely,
Letter 2
19th of December 2025
To: The Honourable Paul Scully Member
The Honourable Alison Byrnes
Firearms Regulations – Reaction to Bondi Terrorism Attack
Dear Alison & Paul,
I am writing to you to express my concerns following the very tragic deaths and injuries perpetrated at Bondi Beach in Sydney on Sunday the 14th December by Islamic extremist father and son, on an unsuspecting peaceful gathering enjoying a festive religious occasion.
That such a tragedy occurred on an iconic beach in Australia is truly as unbelievable, as it is unacceptable, and myself and my family all feel very deeply for the deceased, the wounded, the bystanders and the first responders to this tragedy
In the lead up to next Mondays’ National Cabinet the Prime Minister and the NSW Premier have made announcements that the way to curb such extreme acts of violence is to drastically rewrite gun laws in Australia, and make firearms ownership even more onerous on licenced firearms owners, than the laws following the 1996 Port Arthur Tragedy.
I am a licenced firearms owner, a law abiding citizen and have been so for 55 years. I am 65 years old and enjoy Hunting & Target shooting. I have no criminal record of any kind and have followed the firearms laws post 1996, in terms of registration, safe keeping, attendance at my local Illawarra & Hill Top shooting range, all in accordance with meeting the obligations of my NSW Firearms licence.
My concern as a licenced firearms owner, is that Mr Albanese and Mr Minns both state that in order to curb antisemitic violence in Australia we must bring in a regime of tougher gun laws. This is a fallacy, and an error of judgement on their part. It is a quick political hit, that avoids the real issues of terrorism and terrorist sympathisers in the Muslim community or indeed in other even Right Wing extremist groups.
From what I can gather so far in statements made by the Police at State and Federal level, is that the father who perpetrated this heinous act was a non-citizen, but one who had been granted a Firearms licence by the NSW Police Firearms Registry. How is this even possible? Is this organisation going to accept some of the blame?
How is it possible that a young Muslim man growing up in Sydney was flagged by ASIO as a person of interest when he was 17 for his radical Muslim extremist views and that ASIO and the NSW Police saw no reason to link his father as a licenced firearms owner, to the extreme views of his son and remove the firearms from the household, as they could have done on character grounds.
I see this as a major systemic failure of both ASIO and the NSW Police Service.
As well in the last two years the Federal and State Governments have done next to nothing in allowing mass protests to take place on our streets and on major public places like the fore-court of the Sydney Opera House and Harbour Bridge ostensibly in support of the Palestinians in Gaza. During these well documented protests the state governments have allowed extremist flags to be paraded like those of Hamas and ISIS with next to no intervention by the governments.
Again, it is a well-documented fact that in many of these protests chanted of “death to Israel”, Kill the Jews and “from the mountain to the sea” which apparently was a euphemism for the total elimination of Israel in favour of a Palestinian State.
I would argue that the rise in anti Semitism, the attack on Synagogues, the spray painting of NAZI symbols on Jewish property, cars and buildings in Australia, is the result of a Federal Government that was quick to recognise a State of Palestine, while only paying lip service to the atrocities of HAMAS murdering 1200 people in a single day in Israel, back in late 2023.
In the last two years our government has encouraged and allowed migration on a mass scale from war torn Muslim based countries whose people unfortunately do not see the benefits of living in a pluralistic multi cultural society, but some of whose members, seek to destroy our way of life and our tolerance of others.
To this end the Federal Government has recently repatriated ISIS brides and their children back into Australia at taxpayer expense. These women were not in the Middle East as tourists caught up in some holiday misfortune. They went willingly to marry or partner up with the murderous men of ISIS who collectively brought destruction and a murderous regime to much of the Middle East, costing the lives of thousands of men women and children, but yet our Government, wants to bring them home. Why ? I ask, why?
As I hope you can glean from the above, I am an average Australian citizen who can see there is a bigger picture here that needs to be addressed in all its totality.
The State and Federal Governments through Mr Minns and Mr Albanese have stated the most simplistic solution; is that of tightening up National Firearms laws. I object to this and would like my objection brought to the attention of Mr Littleproud and Ms Susan Ley and hopefully the PM and Premier Minns.
I object as a licenced firearms owner about to face even tougher restrictions on firearms ownership and usage, that as a group we are being conveniently scapegoated by the State and Federal Governments while they make no attempt to address what I see as the real issues above
I want my Governments collectively, to address the real issues behind this massacre. I want my Governments not to use political expediency to blame all licenced firearms owners for what I see as abject systemic failures of the part of governments and their agencies over the last two very sadyears for Australia.
I hope that as my local Federal Member of Parliament that you can draw this to the attention of the Leaders of the Federal Opposition, so that they in turn can make informed comment and suggestions to the Prime Minister and others in whatever deliberations are made on reforming what are already some of the most stringent firearms laws in the world.
In closing I note that even the former Prime Minister John Howard has said, that making tougher firearms laws the solution to the massacre, was an expedient excuse not to tackle the real deeper problems that led to the massacre. I agree with Mr Howard. I am sure and I hope that you will receive many letters like mine on behalf of licensed firearms owners. All I ask of you is that you bring it to the attention of those in charge, so a considered, fact based and non-emotional solution can be arrived at, in the interests of all Australians.
Yours faithfully,