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Following the tragedy of the awful incident at Bondi, Australia is facing several critical conversations. We are seeing a much-needed national focus on antisemitism, an ongoing worry about public safety, and inquiries about how such an event could happen. But, from the perspective of a health professional and Jewish Australian, the paramount dialogue we are now having centers on firearms.

Ten Years of Cautions and a Proven Solution

Health experts have been sounding alarms about firearms for at least a ten-year period. Following the events of the Port Arthur massacre, Australians came together and implemented a series of reforms to curb gun violence nationwide. The strategy succeeded. Prior to 1996, the nation witnessed roughly one large-scale firearm incident per year. In the decades since, there have been vanishingly few significant tragedies, with none approaching the fatalities of the incidents in the 1980s and 1990s.

This Recent Attack and the Function of Current Laws

Even during the Bondi tragedy, the nation's gun laws were partially effective. It has been suggested the alleged attackers might have been armed with manually-operated long guns and at least one straight-pull shotgun. These firearms are limited to firing a one round at a time, requiring a physical action to chamber the subsequent shot. While these guns can be fired quite quickly with devastating effect, they remain far slower and more cumbersome than the large-magazine, self-loading rifles commonplace in overseas attacks. The casualty count at Bondi would've been far higher if different firearms had been accessible.

Stopping a future Bondi requires national cohesion. Regrettably, we have already seen cracks in the facade.

A System Under Strain

However, the terrible consequences of the incident demonstrates that current gun laws are inadequate. Designed in the late 1990s with the noblest aims, decades have eroded their effectiveness. Concerningly, there are now more firearms in Australia than prior to the Port Arthur shooting, with some citizens in cities owning arsenals of hundreds of weapons.

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

The Path Forward: Proposed Changes

In the time after the Bondi attack, there have been numerous announcements regarding new gun laws. The state of NSW specifically will shortly introduce a suite of measures to mitigate the collective risk 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 jurisdictions.

These measures are feasible if the nation acts in unison. As noted, regarding gun control, the country is dependent on its least stringent jurisdiction. This is the very nature of the Australian system – laws in one state are much less meaningful if they can be avoided with a short drive across a border.

Countering Common Objections

There is the inevitable response that "guns don't kill people, people kill people". This is accurate in the same sense that planes don't transport people, aviators do. Yes, aircraft require operators, but it would be quite challenging for a pilot to transport 500 people overseas without the aircraft. The mass slaughter witnessed at Bondi would be extremely difficult without firearms, and would have been significantly less lethal if the accused individuals had been denied access to the firearms they possessed.

Balancing Need and Safety

It is acknowledged there are legitimate reasons for some Australians to own guns. Managing livestock or controlling vermin in many places is extremely difficult without them. A complete removal of firearms from the country is impractical, as in some cases they are indispensable.

What we can do – the imperative action – is to ensure that gun laws are updated to accurately reflect the world we live in today. Australia's legislation have historically been the admiration of the world, but time and distance has taken a toll and the nation is less secure as it previously was. It is critical to learn from the tragedy of Bondi seriously, and make certain that coming Australians are equally safe as previous generations have been.

A commentator remarked after the Bondi events, "such tragedies just don't happen here". This is true, but solely due to the fact that the country has made concerted efforts to keep itself safe. As nightmarish as the attack was, there is hope that it can become the final tragedy the nation experiences.