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‘Extraordinary’: Howard Reflects on Port Arthur Horror
Memorial services and survivor speeches are set to revisit the 35 deaths, while debate grows over whether Australia’s gun laws need further tightening.
- On Tuesday, Australia marked the 30th anniversary of the Port Arthur massacre, honoring the 35 victims killed in the 1996 tragedy. Prime Minister Anthony Albanese acknowledged the enduring grief of families and survivors.
- Gunman Martin Bryant killed 35 people and wounded 23 during the 1996 rampage at the Tasmanian site. The attack prompted then-Prime Minister John Howard to implement the National Firearms Agreement, destroying more than 650,000 weapons.
- Albanese thanked Walter Mikac, who lost his wife Nanette and daughters Alannah and Madeline, for leading the call for gun reform. "Australia is a better place because the government and the parliament of the day came together to answer Walter's call," Albanese stated.
- Howard recalled the bipartisan push to secure laws, noting cooperation from National Party leaders was "quite magnificent." Despite these reforms, some states, including Tasmania, currently resist calls to cap ownership of registered firearms.
- Following the Bondi massacre last December, which killed 15 people, gun reform remains a critical issue. Experts argue that while 1996 reforms reduced risks, the nation must address remaining gaps to ensure laws are not weakened over time.
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John Howard reflects on Port Arthur massacre 30 years on - ABC listen
It remains Australia's deadliest mass murder. Thirty years on, victims and dignitaries will gather at the historic Port Arthur site in Tasmania to mark 30 years since the massacre — when a gunman shot dead 35 people, and wounded 23 others. In the days and weeks after the tragedy, then-prime minister John Howard pushed through tough new gun regulations — laws that have been revisited in recent months in the wake of the Bondi Beach terror attack. …
·Australia
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Total News Sources15
Leaning Left6Leaning Right4Center2Last UpdatedBias Distribution50% Left
Bias Distribution
- 50% of the sources lean Left
50% Left
L 50%
C 17%
R 33%
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