Member for Cootamundra Steph Cooke has stood with primary producers and rural communities when she addressed parliament in regards to the proposed gun laws in the wake of the Bondi shootings.

Ms Cooke shared the condolences of the Cootamundra electorate to those affected and harmed by the horrific terror attack that occurred at the end of last year, ahead of her address.

"Our thoughts are also with the first responders, health workers and community members who acted with courage and compassion in the face of such violence," Ms Cooke said.

Ms Cooke spoke against the proposed Terrorism and Other Legislation Amendment Bill 2025 saying the changes will have serious consequences for legal owners across rural and regional areas.

"I'm opposed to the Terror and Other Legislation Bill 2025 based on schedules two and three, which propose significant changes to the Firearms Act 1996," Ms Cooke said.

"These changes will have serious consequences for lawful firearm owners across rural and regional NSW, including in my electorate of Cootamundra."

Ms Cooke pointed out to her fellow parliamentarians that her electorate is hundreds of kilometers away from where the proposed Bill was created.

“While those events demand a serious and thoughtful response, this legislation has been brought forward at speed with insufficient consideration of the practical impacts and contains provisions that are flawed and poorly targeted,” Ms Cooke said.

“The Bondi terror attack was horrifying.

“It was a violent act driven by hatred and antisemitism.

“We owe the people of New South Wales measures that target the drivers of hate and terror, not measures that scapegoat lawful people who continue to do the right thing.”

Two local farmers agree with the sentiments of Ms Cooke, both agreed to speak with us under the basis of anonymity.

“They’re targeting the wrong people,” one said.

“I think that it’s not the guns, it’s easy to blame the weapons, they just need to have stricter rules when applying for licences.

It has been reported that the weapons used in the terror attack at the end of last year were purchased and owned legally.

“The people in Sydney obviously went through the same process we all went through, so I think stricter background checks seems more important than changing the gun laws themselves,” the primary producer said.

“The government’s got it all wrong, they’re trying to find a bandaid solution, instead of addressing the root issue.”

The second local farmer we spoke to agreed that the laws needed to be looked at but believes that only those who legitimately need the firearms should own them.

“The way I look at it, if you haven’t got a legitimate reason to own a gun for pest control or recreation use, you should not own a gun,” the farmer said.

The release of data following the terror attacks revealed the number of guns people across the state owned caused a stir with some individuals across Sydney shown to legally own over 100 weapons and in some cases well over 300 weapons.

“There is no way those blokes living in Bankstown should own guns, it doesn’t make any sense,” the primary producer said.

“A lot of the newer firearms are setup for daytime use and some for nighttime use with thermal scopes, so for farmers there’s a reason to own multiple weapons for different purposes.

“The gun laws need revisiting, there have been minimal changes since after the Port Arthur massacre, it feels like the social-political aspect is inflating the urgency to change these laws, without consideration for the people who have legitimate reason to hold a gun licence.”

The second farmer also has concerns over the proposed gun buyback scheme.

“Buy back being $150 max per gun, and a lot of the firearms available today are upward of $1000, so a lot of people just won’t do it.”