Australia announces gun buyback plans

Australia will use a sweeping buyback scheme to "get guns off our streets," Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said Friday, showing his government was keen to take quick action less than a week after a terrorist attack left 15 people dead at a Jewish holiday gathering on Sydney's famed Bondi Beach.

Sajid Akram and his son Naveed are accused of opening fire on the festival, which was organized to mark the first day of Hanukkah on Sunday, in what was one of Australia's deadliest mass shootings.

Just hours after the attack, Albanese vowed to toughen national gun laws that allowed 50-year-old Sajid to own six high-powered rifles.

"There is no reason someone living in the suburbs of Sydney needed this many guns," he said.

Australia would pay gun owners to surrender "surplus, newly banned and illegal firearms."

Albanese said Monday that his government was "prepared to take whatever action is necessary. Included in that is the need for tougher gun laws." He specifically suggested measures that could limit the number of guns a licensed owner can obtain, and mandating a review process for existing licenses.

The prime minister said the federal government would evenly split the cost of the buyback program with Australia's state and territorial administrations, with further details to be worked out when lawmakers return to work next week.