Australian Prime Minister Albanese announced on the 19th a government gun buyback program. At a press conference held in Canberra, Albanese said that this program would be the largest of its kind since the related initiative in 1996, and that the government hopes to reduce the number of firearms on Australian streets.
Albanese also announced that December 21 this year will be designated as the national "Day of Reflection."
He stated that this decision is intended “to commemorate the victims of the Bondi Beach terror attack.”
Police Arrest 7 Men with "Extreme Ideologies"
New South Wales Deputy Police Commissioner Hudson said on the morning of the 19th that police arrested 7 men in southwest Sydney on the evening of the 18th. Investigators believe they hold "extreme ideologies" and might have been planning to go to Bondi Beach.
A shooting incident occurred at Sydney’s Bondi Beach on the 14th, resulting in 16 deaths, including the suspect. Australian police stated that preliminary evidence indicates the Bondi Beach shooting was a terrorist attack driven by the ideology of the extremist organization “Islamic State.”