The gun laws create new restrictions on gun ownership and create a government-funded buyback program to compensate people forced to hand in their firearms.
Anti-hate speech laws enable groups that don’t fit Australia’s definition of a terrorist organization, such as the Islamist group Hizb ut-Tahrir, to be outlawed. Hizb ut-Tahrir is already outlawed by some countries.
The government had initially planned a single bill, but separated the issues into two bills introduced to the House of Representatives on Tuesday.
Both bills initially passed the House, where the center-left Labor Party government holds a majority of seats. The firearms bill was the first to be passed by the Senate, where no party holds a majority, with a 38-to-26 vote. The anti-hate speech bill followed with a 38-to-22 vote in the 76-seat upper chamber.
Earlier Tuesday, Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke told Parliament that alleged gunmen Sajid Akram, 50, and his 24-year-old son Naveed Akram wouldn't have been allowed to possess guns under the proposed laws.
“In responding to the antisemitic terror attack, we need to deal with the motivation and we need to deal with the method,” Burke told Parliament. “We are dealing with two people there who had horrific antisemitic bigotry in their minds and in their hearts. And they had weapons they should not have had.”
