A father who suffered unimaginable loss in one of Australia's darkest chapters has spoken out in support of new firearm restrictions proposed in the wake of the Bondi Junction attack. Walter Mikac, whose wife and two young daughters were killed in the 1996 Port Arthur massacre, has praised reforms announced by New South Wales Premier Chris Minns.
A Legacy of Loss and Advocacy
On April 28, 1996, Martin Bryant used a Colt AR-15 semi-automatic rifle and a battle rifle to murder 35 people and injure 23 others at the Port Arthur historic site in Tasmania. Among the victims were Mr Mikac's wife, Nanette, and their two daughters, six-year-old Alannah and three-year-old Madeline. Bryant pleaded guilty and received 35 life sentences without parole.
The national trauma of that event led directly to the landmark National Firearms Agreement, which saw a massive buyback of prohibited weapons. Mr Mikac channelled his grief into founding The Alannah and Madeline Foundation, dedicated to protecting children from violence.
New Reforms Following a Fresh Tragedy
The horrific attack at a Bondi Beach shopping centre last Sunday, which claimed the lives of six innocent people, has prompted a fresh political focus on gun laws. Premier Minns announced a suite of proposed reforms on Friday, which Mr Mikac has strongly endorsed.
"I am pleased that Premier Minns has listened to the community and to our gun safety experts and reconfirmed community safety as the central tenet of our gun laws," Mr Mikac stated. He described the Bondi attack as a "devastating reminder that strong gun laws must evolve to address new risks – not be weakened or undermined."
The key measures proposed by the NSW government include:
- A cap limiting individual firearm ownership to four guns, with exemptions for primary producers and sporting shooters.
- Reclassifying certain lever-action and pump-action firearms into a more restrictive category.
- Reducing magazine capacities for some firearm categories to a maximum of 5-10 rounds.
- A complete ban on firearms capable of using belt-fed magazines.
These state-level changes follow a federal announcement by Prime Minister Anthony Albanese for a new national buyback scheme, described as the largest since the 1996 initiative.
Debate and Opposition from Sporting Shooters
However, the proposed firearm reforms have not been universally welcomed. Former Olympic sport shooter and federal MP for Hunter, Dan Repacholi, has declared he will not support the NSW changes, arguing they unfairly penalise law-abiding owners.
"Australia has strong gun laws and they save lives, but I do not support changes that unfairly target responsible, law-abiding firearms owners," Repacholi said. He suggested the focus should instead be on information sharing and enforcing existing powers, rather than on "arbitrary limits."
Mr Mikac countered this perspective, emphasising the fundamental risk posed by weapons. "This attack was fuelled by hate, but guns allowed that hate to be weaponised as terror," he said, drawing a direct line from the personal tragedy of Port Arthur to the communal grief of Bondi.
