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Following the tragedy of the horrific incident at Bondi, Australia is confronting several pressing conversations. We are seeing a much-needed national spotlight on antisemitism, an ongoing concern about public safety, and inquiries about the way such an tragedy could occur. But, from the perspective of a public health expert and Jewish Australian, the paramount dialogue we are now having revolves around firearms.

Ten Years of Warnings and a Proven Response

Public health experts have been issuing warnings about firearms for at least a ten-year period. Following the events of the Port Arthur tragedy, Australians united and enacted a suite of measures to curb gun violence across the country. And it worked. Prior to 1996, the nation witnessed approximately one mass shooting per year. Over the following years, there have been extremely rare significant tragedies, with none approaching the death toll of the incidents in the 1980s and 1990s.

This Recent Tragedy and the Role of Existing Laws

Amidst the Bondi events, the nation's firearm regulations were not entirely useless. It has been suggested the individuals involved might have been armed with bolt-action rifles and at least one straight-pull shotgun. These weapons 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 rapidly with lethal results, they remain significantly less rapid and more cumbersome than the high-capacity, semi-automatic rifles frequently used in overseas attacks. The number of deaths at Bondi could have been much greater if more advanced firearms had been accessible.

Stopping a future Bondi demands unity across all states. And unfortunately, there are already fissures in the united front.

A System Under Strain

Yet, the terrible toll of the attack demonstrates that existing gun laws are failing. Crafted in the late 1990s with the best of intentions, decades have eroded their effectiveness. Alarmingly, there are currently a greater number of guns in Australia than before the Port Arthur shooting, with some individuals in cities reportedly holding collections numbering in the hundreds.

We have been overconfident and it has cost us terribly.

The Path Forward: Proposed Reforms

In the time after the Bondi tragedy, there have been multiple announcements regarding new firearm legislation. The state of NSW specifically will shortly enact a suite of reforms to reduce the collective risk from firearms. The federal government has announced a fresh gun buyback, and there is potential for a countrywide gun database, despite the complexities of coordinating state and federal jurisdictions.

All of this are feasible provided that the nation acts in unison. As stated, when it comes to 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 bypassed with a short drive across a border.

Countering Common Arguments

There is the inevitable response that "firearms are not the killers, individuals are". This is accurate in the identical way that aircraft do not fly passengers, aviators do. Certainly, planes can't fly themselves, but it would be virtually impossible for a pilot to transport 500 people overseas without the plane. The horrific violence seen at Bondi would be all but impossible without firearms, and would have been far less damaging if the accused individuals had been denied access to the weapons they possessed.

Balancing Need and Safety

There are valid needs for some Australians to possess firearms. Managing livestock or controlling vermin in many places is extremely difficult without them. A complete removal of guns from the country is not feasible, as in certain contexts they are indispensable.

What we can do – what we must do – is to guarantee that gun laws are modernized to better match the society we live in today. Australia's laws have long been the admiration of the world, but the passage of years has done its work 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 future generations are equally safe as previous generations have been.

A friend observed after the Bondi attack, "such tragedies just don't happen here". This is true, but solely due to the fact that the country has collectively worked to keep itself safe. As nightmarish as the incident was, there is hope that it can become the final tragedy the nation ever sees.