TMU CSR Institute zoom session: The Australian Government's Response to the Bondi Beach Tragedy - A Legal Analysis

On 14 December 2025, two gunmen opened fire during a Hanukkah celebration at a park adjacent to Bondi Beach in Sydney, Australia, killing 15 people and injuring dozens more. In the aftermath, serious questions have arisen about the adequacy of the Australian Government’s legal and regulatory response to the risks of mass-casualty violence in open public spaces. This one-hour session will examine how Australia’s firearms laws, policing powers, emergency-management frameworks, and public-space safety regulations operated before, during, and after the incident, and whether they were fit for purpose in preventing, containing, and responding to the attack. Themes that will be explored include the the challenges associated with fragmented legal authority, inter-agency coordination, information-sharing and escalation pathways, and how to maintain an appropriate balance between civil liberties and public protection. If time allows, reforms may be needed to build more resilient, integrated public-safety governance going forward.

About the Speaker

University of Canberra Law School Professor Benedict Sheehy (external link)  is ideally positioned to shed light on this topic. He is an internationally recognized leader in the fields of CSR, corporate law and regulatory theory, publishing extensively in leading legal and other journals. His work with interdisciplinary researchers from around the globe has led to significant published research, examining different aspects of how law works, how law fails and how society can more effectively achieve long term environmental and social sustainability using various types of law in a wide variety of contexts.

About the Moderator

Dr. Kernaghan Webb holds Bachelor's, Masters and Doctorate degrees in law, and is an Associate Professor in the Toronto Metropolitan University Department of Law and Business. He is also the Founding Director of the TMU Institute for the Study of Corporate Social Responsibility. Prof. Webb's extensive law and regulation research and publications have among other things been cited and quoted  (external link) by the Supreme Court of Canada. Dr. Webb has also been employed by or advised governments and inter-governmental bodies, and he has been on the board of directors or otherwise assisted private sector, civil society organizations on regulatory matters. Professor Webb was appointed Special Advisor to the UN Global Compact regarding the development of the ISO 26000 social responsibility standard, he has played leadership roles in the development of international and national social and economic standards, and received international and national recognition for his leadership.

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Upcoming TMU CSR Institute Talks

January 23, 2026 -- Understanding Nigeria's Legislated Approach to Impact and Benefit Agreements: In Conversation with Lotanna Nwodo, LLB (Nigeria) LLM (Harvard), on Friday, January 23, 2026 from 12:00 pm to 1:30 pm EST. To REGISTER and more details (no cost, everyone welcome) click HERE (external link) . Space is limited, so register soon. To ACCESS THE ZOOM on Friday, January 23 at 12:00 pm EST, click HERE (external link)  to patch in for the live session. This session is exclusively a zoom event: there is no in-person component. The session will be recorded and will be accessible after the fact on the TMU CSR Institute website.

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Recent TMU CSR Institute News

December 2, 2025 -- TMU Law & Business Grad Using CSR & Law Skills in David v. Goliath Courtroom Victory, click here.

December 4, 2025 -- CSR Institute Collaborators Publish IBA Article on Global Threats to the Rule of Law, click here.

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For more information concerning past TMU CSR Institute events, videos and related information, click here.

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