Gun and protest laws tighten after Bondi Beach terrorist attack. Here's what you need to know
The tough new laws are a reaction to the shooting at Bondi Beach that left 15 people dead. (ABC News: Jack Fisher)
The NSW government has passed its controversial package of law changes in reaction to the Bondi terror attack.
The laws passed the upper house 18 votes to eight after a marathon debate which stretched into the early hours of Christmas Eve.
The legislation now goes back to the lower house to be rubberstamped.
The Minns government recalled parliament to pass the laws in the wake of the December 14 shooting at Bondi Beach where 15 people were killed when two men targeted a Jewish gathering.
Parliament was recalled to pass the laws following the terrorist attack at Bondi Beach. (ABC News: Che Chorley)
The bill packaged gun reforms with a ban on protests for up to three months.
It split the Coalition, with the Liberals backing the bill and the Nationals opposing it. Goulburn-based Liberal MP Wendy Tuckerman broke ranks to vote with the Nationals.
A number of Liberal Party MPs criticised the government for rushing the laws through with limited consultation, before ultimately supporting the omnibus bill.
The Greens and a number of crossbench MPs were also in opposition.
Protest laws set for constitutional challenge
The government has given police the power to enact a blanket refusal of all public assemblies for up to three months after a terrorist incident.
The police commissioner has the discretion to turn that power on and they can extend it in two-week increments.
Premier Chris Minns argued that was necessary to preserve police resources and ensure calm in the wake of the tragedy.
"The passage of this legislation is the single best thing we can do in the short run to keep the people of New South Wales safe," he told the media earlier in the week.
The Palestine Action Group is among the activist groups set to legally challenge the changes. (ABC News: Jack Fisher)
But it has been met with opposition from advocacy groups, including the Palestine Action Group, Jews Against the Occupation and the Blak Caucus, a First Nations group, which are preparing a challenge on constitutional grounds.
"It unnecessarily infringes on the implied freedom of communication, which is essentially the freedom of speech which we have in this country," lawyer Nick Hanna said on Tuesday.
There is some uncertainty about whether the laws will only prohibit marching protests or will cover static gatherings as well.
Mr Minns said static rallies would not be covered, but police could shut them down if they were regarded as a "breach of the peace".
The premier has argued the ban on all protests after a terrorist attack is necessary. (ABC News: Abubakr Sajid)
Lawyer Nick Hanna said that was a problem.
"It will ban processions, that is moving protests, but in relation to static protests, it will also allow police to move them on in certain circumstances."
The constitutional challenge is expected to commence in January.
Gun limits opposed in regional NSW
Gun laws will be tightened in a number of ways.
One of the main adjustments is that recreational licence holders will be able to own a maximum of four guns, and farmers could have up to 10.
They will also have to have their licence reviewed every two years, rather than every five, and will lose the ability to appeal a licence removal in the New South Wales Civil and Administrative Tribunal (NCAT).
Non-citizens will also be unable to get a gun licence, with exemptions for New Zealanders working in farming or security.
Five independent MPs from regional areas gave a joint press conference, arguing farmers battling rising numbers of feral pests were being inadvertently punished.
"The Minns government didn't really want to consider us at all, we feel like the forgotten people," Member for Murray Helen Dalton said.
Wagga Wagga MP Joe McGirr argued the changes would be ineffective.
"The killers … had six guns. Now they can get four. If they had a licence each, they'd have eight. So how does that make anyone safer?" Dr McGirr said.
MPs who opposed the gun laws questioned whether they would make the community safer. (ABC News)
The government said it had to weigh the concerns of regional gun owners against the risks to the community from bad actors.
"We know that many are good law-abiding gun licence holders," Police Minister Yasmin Catley said on Monday.
"We also have to acknowledge the harm that can be caused by guns, and for that reason, we have introduced these legislative reforms."
The government said the gun laws would come into effect as soon as the federal government's gun buyback scheme became active, which would likely be in the new year.