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In the aftermath of the awful attack at Bondi, Australia is confronting multiple pressing reckonings. We are seeing a much-needed national focus on antisemitism, an ongoing worry about public safety, and inquiries about the way such an tragedy could occur. However, from the perspective of a public health expert and Australian Jew, the paramount dialogue we are finally having revolves around firearms.

A Decade of Cautions and a Successful Response

Public health specialists have been issuing warnings about guns for a minimum of a decade. Following the events of the Port Arthur massacre, Australians united and enacted a series of measures to reduce gun violence across the country. And it worked. Prior to 1996, the nation witnessed approximately one large-scale firearm incident per year. Over the following years, there have been vanishingly few significant tragedies, with none approaching the fatalities of the shootings in the 1980s and 1990s.

This Recent Attack and the Function of Current Laws

Even during the Bondi tragedy, the nation's firearm regulations were partially effective. It has been suggested the alleged attackers possessed with bolt-action rifles and a straight-pull shotgun. These firearms are limited to firing a single bullet at a time, necessitating a physical action to chamber the next round. While these guns are capable of being discharged quite quickly with lethal results, they remain far slower and less efficient than the large-magazine, self-loading rifles commonplace in overseas mass shootings. The casualty count at Bondi would've been far higher if more advanced firearms had been accessible.

Preventing another Bondi demands national cohesion. And unfortunately, we have already seen cracks in the facade.

Legislation Showing Weakness

Yet, the terrible consequences of the attack reveals that existing firearm regulations are failing. Designed in the late 1990s with the noblest aims, years have worn away their efficacy. Concerningly, there are currently a greater number of guns in Australia than before the Port Arthur massacre, with some individuals in urban areas reportedly holding collections numbering in the hundreds.

We have been overconfident and it has exacted a terrible price.

The Road Forward: Announced Changes

In the time after the Bondi tragedy, there have been multiple announcements regarding strengthened firearm legislation. New South Wales specifically will soon introduce a suite of reforms to reduce the collective risk posed by firearms. The federal government has proposed a new firearm surrender scheme, and there is hope for a national firearms registry, despite the complexities of aligning state and federal governments.

All of this are feasible provided that the nation works together. As noted, when it comes to gun control, the country is dependent on its least stringent jurisdiction. This is the very nature of the Australian federation – laws in one state are much less meaningful if they can be bypassed with a journey across a border.

Addressing Frequent Arguments

We hear the predictable argument that "guns don't kill people, individuals are". This is true in the same sense that planes don't transport people, aviators do. Certainly, planes can't fly themselves, but it would be quite challenging for a captain to transport 500 people internationally without the plane. The mass slaughter seen at Bondi would be all but impossible without firearms, and would have been significantly less lethal if the accused individuals had been denied access to the firearms they possessed.

Balancing Necessity and Safety

It is acknowledged there are valid needs for some Australians to possess guns. Farm work or controlling vermin in many places is incredibly hard without them. A complete removal of firearms from the country is impractical, as in certain contexts they are indispensable.

The achievable goal – what we must do – is to ensure that firearm legislation are modernized to better match the world we live in today. Australia's legislation have historically been the admiration of the world, but the passage of years has taken a toll and the nation is no longer as safe as it previously was. It is critical to take the lessons of Bondi to heart, and make certain that coming Australians are as protected as past generations have been.

A commentator remarked after the Bondi events, "such tragedies just don't happen here". They don't, 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.