🔗 Share this article

In the aftermath of the horrific attack at Bondi, Australia is confronting multiple pressing conversations. There is a long-overdue national focus on anti-Jewish sentiment, an persistent concern about public safety, and inquiries about how such an event could happen. But, from the perspective of a public health expert and Jewish Australian, the paramount discussion we are finally having revolves around firearms.

A Decade of Warnings and a Proven Response

Health specialists have been sounding alarms about firearms for at least a decade. In the wake of the Port Arthur tragedy, Australians came together and implemented a series of measures to reduce gun violence nationwide. The strategy succeeded. Prior to 1996, the nation witnessed approximately one large-scale firearm incident per year. Over the following years, there have been extremely rare significant tragedies, with none reaching the fatalities of the incidents in the 1980s and 1990s.

This Recent Attack and the Role of Current Laws

Amidst the Bondi tragedy, the nation's gun laws were partially effective. It has been suggested the alleged attackers possessed with bolt-action rifles and a straight-pull shotgun. These firearms can only fire a one round at a time, necessitating a physical action to ready the subsequent shot. While these guns can be fired quite quickly with devastating effect, they remain significantly less rapid and more cumbersome than the large-magazine, self-loading rifles commonplace in international attacks. 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. And unfortunately, there are already fissures in the united front.

A System Showing Weakness

However, the terrible toll of the incident demonstrates that current gun laws are failing. Designed in the late 1990s with the best of intentions, decades have eroded their effectiveness. Concerningly, there are now a greater number of guns in Australia than before the Port Arthur shooting, with some citizens in urban areas owning collections numbering in the hundreds.

We have been complacent and it has cost us terribly.

The Path Forward: Announced Reforms

Since the Bondi tragedy, there have been multiple declarations regarding new firearm legislation. The state of NSW in particular will shortly introduce a package of reforms to reduce the public danger posed by firearms. The national government has announced a new gun buyback, and there is potential for a national firearms registry, despite the inherent challenges of coordinating state and federal governments.

All of this are only possible provided that the nation acts in unison. As stated, when it comes to firearm laws, the country is dependent on its least stringent jurisdiction. This is the reality of the Australian federation – regulations in one state are much less meaningful if they can be avoided with a short drive across a state line.

Addressing Frequent Objections

There is the predictable response that "guns don't kill people, people kill people". This is accurate in the identical way that planes don't transport people, pilots do. Certainly, planes can't fly themselves, but it would be quite challenging for a pilot to move 500 people internationally without the aircraft. The mass slaughter seen at Bondi would be all but impossible without guns, and would have been far less damaging if the accused individuals had not had access to the firearms they possessed.

Balancing Necessity and Security

There are legitimate reasons for some Australians to own guns. Managing livestock or culling pests in many places is extremely difficult without them. A total ban 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 ensure that firearm legislation are modernized to better match the society we live in today. Australia's legislation have long been the envy of the world, but time and distance has taken a toll and the nation is less secure as it previously was. It is vital to take the lessons of Bondi seriously, and ensure that coming Australians are equally safe as past generations have been.

As one 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 made concerted efforts to keep itself safe. As nightmarish as the incident was, there is an aspiration that it can become the last one the nation experiences.