Anthony Albanese and state leaders have vowed to put new restrictions on firearms after Sajid Akram and son Naveed killed at least 15 people and injured dozens more at a Jewish Hanukkah celebration at Bondi Beach on Sunday.
NSW Premier Chris Minns said he would introduce the strongest gun laws in the country, recalling parliament for Monday and Tuesday to quickly cap the number of guns individuals can own and reclassify some weapons like pump-action shotguns.
The prime minister, through national cabinet, is accelerating the creation of a central firearms register to increase intelligence-sharing between jurisdictions.
He has also tasked states and territories with formulating laws to limit gun ownership, which will also be conditional on Australian citizenship.
But the federal opposition and former Liberal prime minister John Howard, who instigated Australia's landmark gun laws after the Port Arthur massacre in 1996, have called the focus on firearms a distraction as they blame federal Labor for inaction on anti-Semitism.
Treasurer Jim Chalmers rejected the suggestion one was being prioritised over the other.
"This is not an either-or, we don't just have the capacity to deal with both evils at once, we've got a responsibility to deal with both evils at once," he said on Wednesday.
Labor faces more opposition from the coalition, and especially the Nationals, than Mr Howard did in 1996 when then-Nationals head Tim Fischer backed the weapons crackdown.
Current firearm laws weren't the problem as restrictions were already world-class, Nationals leader David Littleproud said.
"If you are committed to go and slaughter innocent Australians at Bondi Beach, you are going to find means to find a weapon, whether it be a gun, whether it be a knife, whether it be a vehicle, whether it be a bomb," he told ABC radio.
Sensible gun reform would be considered, such as a national gun register and limiting ownership to Australian citizens, Nationals frontbencher Ross Cadell said.
But caps on the number of firearms people legally own and changes to the justifications for having a weapon could face opposition from the regional party.
"There are legit reasons for multiple weapons," Senator Cadell told AAP, pointing to pest control operators who need different firearms for different animals.
Gun reduction advocates have called for the removal of a recreational hunting licence category and further restrictions on high-capacity guns.
The Invasive Species Council also called for more oversight on pest control, with head Jack Gough saying there's no evidence recreational hunting effectively reduces feral animal populations.
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