{
  "id": 1362315,
  "title": "Aussie state to start gun buyback on Nov 2",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/08/16/aussie-state-to-start-gun-buyback-on-nov-2",
  "topic": "world",
  "section": "World",
  "published": "2026-08-16T22:00:29.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "New Straits Times",
    "slug": "new-straits-times",
    "url": "https://www.nst.com.my/world/world/2026/08/1512633/aussie-state-start-gun-buyback-nov-2"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "New South Wales, Australia's most populous state, will commence a gun buyback program in November, announced Prime Minister Anthony Albanese. This initiative follows a shooting spree that left 15 people dead at a Jewish festival in Bondi Beach earlier this year. Albanese's centre-left government introduced stricter laws in January, including enhanced checks for gun licences and efforts to curb hate speech. The alleged perpetrator used legally obtained firearms, which are prevalent in the country. Last year, Australia had a record 4.1 million firearms, with New South Wales alone housing over 1.1 million. The buyback will be the largest in the nation's history since a similar program following the 1996 Port Arthur massacre, where a gunman killed 35 people. Albanese and New South Wales Premier Chris Minns revealed the scheme would begin on November 2, offering up to A$1,000 compensation for each firearm returned. Albanese acknowledged that while Australians are proud of their gun laws, there are more firearms in the country today than during the 1996 buyback. New South Wales has since limited each individual to owning four guns, a reform prompted by the Bondi Beach attack, which police suspect was carried out by a father and son influenced by the Islamic State group. The surviving suspect, Naveed Akram, 24, has not yet pleaded to multiple murder charges.",
  "summary": "Your browser does not support the audio element.",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}