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In the aftermath of the horrific attack at Bondi, Australia is confronting multiple critical conversations. There is a much-needed national focus on anti-Jewish sentiment, an ongoing worry about public safety, and inquiries about the way such an event could happen. But, from the perspective of a health professional and Jewish Australian, the paramount dialogue we are finally having revolves around firearms.

Ten Years of Cautions and a Proven Response

Public health experts have been sounding alarms about guns for at least a ten-year period. Following the events of the Port Arthur tragedy, Australians came together and implemented a suite of reforms to reduce gun violence across the country. And it worked. Before 1996, the nation witnessed roughly one mass shooting per year. Over the following years, there have been vanishingly few major events, with none reaching the fatalities of the shootings in the 1980s and 1990s.

The Bondi Tragedy and the Role of Current Regulations

Even during the Bondi events, the nation's gun laws were not entirely useless. It has been suggested the alleged attackers might have been armed with manually-operated long guns and a straight-pull shotgun. These weapons are limited to firing a one round at a time, requiring a manual operation to chamber the next round. While these guns are capable of being discharged quite quickly with lethal results, they remain significantly less rapid and more cumbersome than the high-capacity, semi-automatic rifles commonplace in overseas mass shootings. The number of deaths at Bondi could have been much greater if more advanced firearms had been available.

Preventing another Bondi requires unity across all states. Regrettably, there are already cracks in the united front.

Legislation Under Strain

Yet, the horrific toll of the incident demonstrates that existing gun laws are failing. Designed in the late 1990s with the noblest aims, decades have eroded their efficacy. Concerningly, there are currently more firearms in Australia than before the Port Arthur massacre, with some citizens in cities owning collections numbering in the hundreds.

The nation has grown complacent and it has cost us terribly.

The Path Ahead: Announced Changes

Since the Bondi tragedy, there have been multiple announcements regarding new gun laws. The state of NSW specifically will shortly enact a package of measures to reduce the public danger from firearms. The national government has proposed a new firearm surrender scheme, and there is potential for a countrywide gun database, despite the complexities of aligning state and federal governments.

These measures are feasible if the nation acts in unison. As stated, regarding firearm laws, the country is dependent on its weakest link. This is the reality of the Australian federation – laws in one state are much less meaningful if they can be avoided with a short drive across a state line.

Addressing Common Arguments

We hear the predictable argument that "firearms are not the killers, individuals are". This is accurate in the same sense that aircraft do not fly passengers, pilots do. Certainly, planes can't fly themselves, but it would be virtually impossible for a captain to transport 500 people internationally without the plane. The mass slaughter witnessed at Bondi would be extremely difficult without firearms, and would have been far less damaging if the accused individuals had been denied access to the firearms they possessed.

Balancing Need and Security

It is acknowledged there are valid reasons for some Australians to own firearms. Farm work or culling pests in many places is incredibly hard without them. A total ban of guns from the country is not feasible, as in some cases they are essential tools.

What we can do – what we must do – is to ensure that gun laws are updated to accurately reflect the society we live in today. Australia's laws have long been the admiration of the world, but time and distance has done its work and the nation is no longer as safe as it once was. It is critical to take the lessons of Bondi seriously, and ensure that future generations are equally safe as past generations have been.

A commentator remarked after the Bondi events, "things like this just don't happen here". This is true, but only because the country has collectively worked to keep itself safe. As nightmarish as the attack was, there is an aspiration that it can become the final tragedy the nation ever sees.